Miller?s collegiate field hockey career off to fast start in new country
10/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
By Mike Ashcraft
Adjusting to college life is often a whirlwind experience for incoming freshmen. A new way of life, newfound freedom, new friends and a new (and bigger) workload await those who pursue a higher education.
Add to that expectations of being a starter for a Division I field hockey program, and the pressure significantly increases.
Factor in being on a different continent and an entirely different culture half a world from home, and you have the situation facing Kent State freshman forward Rachel Miller.
However, if you ask Miller, a native of Bathurst, Australia, about the pressure, she will tell you it does not exist. The fact that she is a freshman leading her team in goals (7), assists (7) and points (21) 14 games into her first season is not a huge surprise in Miller's eyes.
"Age is never a big thing where I'm from," said Miller, 19. "It didn't matter what age you were. The team's just made it so easy to come in and fit in with everyone. It's been really good."
It also helps that Miller brings credentials that few incoming freshmen have. Miller was a member of the Australian Under-19 Team and Australia's Under-21 Youth Olympic Team. Miller helped the New South Wales team capture a national championship and was named Bathurst's Australia Day Junior Sportsperson in 2007.
"I started playing when I was five," said Miller. "Once you get up to the teens, you've been playing for quite awhile, so age isn't really a big thing."
Such a resume made Miller a favorite to earn a starting role with the Golden Flashes prior to the season, and she delivered with hard work.
As talented and successful as the soft-spoken Miller is, she is equally modest, deflecting individual praise to shine light on the team as a whole.
"The season's been going really well," said Miller. "As a team, we've gotten better every game, so it's great to be a part of it."
Maybe not coincidentally, the Golden Flashes have been equally impressive as Miller's individual play. KSU is 9-5 overall and 4-1 in Mid-American Conference play. Kent State knocked off nationally ranked MAC rival Ohio 1-0 Sunday to tie the Bobcats for first place in the conference standings.
After visiting the United States twice before officially arriving at Kent State, Miller has also found adjusting to living in a new country to be pretty simple for the most part.
"It's really quite similar," said Miller. "It took me forever to get used to your food, but, other than that everything's pretty much the same."
Though Miller may have gotten used to American food, she stands by her opinion that Australians are much better cooks.
"Definitely us," said Miller. "Yours is too fatty."
Driving has also proven to be a bit of an adventure for Miller, who is used to navigating vehicles from the left-hand side of roads.
"I always look the wrong way when I go to cross the road," said Miller. "My friends have had to save me many times from being run over."
One test Miller has not had to experience is the winter weather in northeast Ohio, which is notorious for brutal cold and whipping winds.
"Where I am, it's not as cold as it gets here, so I'm kind of worried about how I'll handle the cold when winter comes," said Miller. "I'm looking forward to a white Christmas."
Miller said that while living in Kent has been relatively similar to living in Bathurst, America's stereotype of Australia as being the "land down under" is a big misconception.
"Well, the 'g'day mate' and 'crikey' isn't really a representation of us," said Miller. "We are not the 'Crocodile Hunter.' It's very much the same (as the United States)."
What Miller misses more than Australian food and driving on the left-hand side of the road is her family, who is an ocean away. An only child, Miller said she tries to communicate with her parents on a regular basis and plans to head home to visit over winter break. Of course, her family is supportive of her move to the United States because field hockey is in the Miller genes. Miller's mother, Margaret, along with several uncles and cousins, have played field hockey.
"I message mom quite a bit," said Miller. "My dad's just done the text messaging as well. I talk to them every now and then. It costs quite a bit to ring, so I e-mail them quite a lot."
Though her situation could be intimidating for many, Miller has taken everything in stride with a quiet confidence and big hopes for the Golden Flashes.
"We just want to go as well as we can," said Miller. "We'd love to make the NCAAs. If we just continue with the way that we've been playing and improving every game, hopefully we'll get into the NCAA."
