NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin Men’s tennis team manager
Zach Miller is the team’s most vocal and spirited
supporter.
By Greg Schain
Daily Bruin Contributor
When the UCLA men’s tennis team travels to Georgia this
weekend to play in the NCAA Championships, the team trainers will
be bringing plenty of cough drops.
But probably none of the players will need them.
The only one who takes the cough drops regularly is Zach Miller,
the team manager who is culminating a four-year run as the loudest
presence in college tennis.
During every match for the last four seasons, Miller has sat in
the stands, screaming incessantly to try to pump up the team.
“He is always yelling,” said senior Chris Sands, a
co-captain of this year’s team. “His eyes are bloodshot
by the end of every match, and he’s got a pounding
headache.”
The bloodshot eyes and the headaches are just byproducts of the
intense team spirit that Miller shows during every match. They are
also evidence of Miller’s love for tennis.
Growing up, Miller, a Tuscon, Ariz. native, was a very talented
player. His high school record earned him a chance to play at many
Division I schools.
But he wasn’t interested in going to a Division I school
with a lesser-known tennis program. He wanted to come to UCLA and
get a chance to be involved in one of the most prestigious programs
in the nation. Most of all, he wanted to win a championship.
Originally, Miller tried to make the team as a walk-on, but he
wasn’t quite good enough.
“Then this managing job presented itself to me,”
Miller said. “I thought it would be a great way to help out
the team and win a national championship.”
Miller has certainly done all he can to help the team in its
quest for a championship. He serves as a third assistant coach,
feeding balls to team members during practice if needed, making
sure they have drinks, and doing just about every other task to
make it easier for players to concentrate on tennis.
But Miller’s real value, and what separates him from other
managers, is the support he shows the players on and off the
court.
“He knows tennis enough where he can sense who is in
trouble and focus his cheers on that player,” said UCLA Head
Coach Billy Martin. “There is a friendship between Zach and
every one of our guys, where he can call them a funny nickname or
something and it really helps spark their game.”
Miller’s magic ability to help pick up UCLA’s
players puts a fear in opponents in a way few other external
factors can.
“When we go to play any away match, and they see our team
coming, Zach puts just as much fear in them as the rest of the
team,” said UCLA Assistant Head Coach Jason Sher. “I
know it’s strange, but he is so loud that our team rallies
around him.”
When the team went to Stanford earlier this year, Miller was not
intimidated by the tough Cardinal fans. Out of hundreds of people
in the stands, he was one of the only UCLA supporters. But he
wasn’t intimidated by the fact that he was a lone Bruin in a
sea of Cardinal.
“He was screaming like crazy up at Stanford,” Martin
said. “He didn’t care that he was
outnumbered.”
Stanford Head Coach Dick Gould understands the value of a guy
like Miller to a tennis team.
“He is a great guy,” he said. “The kind of guy
you definitely wish was on your side.”
To counter Miller’s constant cheers, some of the Stanford
players have tried to get back at Miller by nicknaming him
“The Waterboy.” The name has caught on around college
tennis. Miller hates it, but doesn’t let it affect his team
spirit during a match.
“I am not too thrilled about that nickname,” Miller
said. “But I don’t let it bother me. I can intimidate
(Stanford) players way more than they can intimidate me.”
Despite Miller’s success in getting inside
opponents’ heads, UCLA has never won a national championship
during his reign as manager. The upcoming NCAA Tournament is his
last shot to get that elusive ring, because the end of the
tournament will mark the end of Miller’s UCLA tennis
career.
So what will it feel like if this is finally UCLA’s year
to win a championship?
“It will be a culmination of four great years,”
Miller said. “And I would love to be there to see the
expressions on Billy’s, and (senior) Jean-Noel’s
(Grinda) and Chris’ faces if they win, because they have
worked so hard over the past four seasons.”
Although a national championship would be nice, the past four
years for Miller have been about more than just tennis. He has
developed special relationships that will last a lifetime.
No bond is more special to Miller than the one he has with Coach
Martin.
Miller says that he is indebted to Martin for all that he has
done for him, including fighting for scholarship money and helping
him choose career paths.
“Billy has helped me out so much, and he is such a great
guy, that anything he would ask me to do I would probably do for
him,” Miller said. “It is like having an uncle here in
LA. I can go to him for advice or anything I need, because he is a
confidante.”
Miller’s dream is to be a versatile sports broadcaster,
like Al Michaels. He should do a good job at it, because he has a
passion for sports, especially tennis.
He shows it every time the Bruins steps onto the court.