“He said, ‘No.’ And I said, ‘Yes,
there is. I’ve never had a Native American young man, but I’ve had a lot of young men that I’ve interviewed and recruited,” Tierney recollected. “’What’s wrong?’”
Miller turned to his mom. “Tell him,” she said. “Well, coach, I understand that
you make your players cut their hair,” Miller said. “In my culture…” Tierney stopped him after three
words. “I would never, ever cross the line of
your culture,” he said. “If this is that meaningful to you, maybe you can teach all the others about it, and we’ll have them all grow out their hair.’ He looked up at me, and it was the first sign of him having a great sense of humor, and he said, ‘Coach, I don’t think I can braid all their hair.’” Miller faced a similar situation before he decided to enroll at The Hill Academy in Vaughn, Ontario, and play under coach Brodie Merrill. “Before they accepted him, he was
Go West, Young Man
Zach Miller’s college choice makes him a unique member of an up-and-coming Iroquois generation
By Will Cleveland T
he unexpected partnership between Denver men’s lacrosse coach Bill Tierney and his star freshman Zach Miller might not have worked.
It involved a legendary coach with six NCAA championships on his resume, building a power in the West, and a quietly determined left-handed Native American phenom from an upstate New York reservation. Native American players have traditionally stayed close to home, but Miller has never been one to follow the preordained path.
60 LACROSSE MAGAZINE July 2014>> Tierney knew that Miller, who already
started to follow his own path when he went to The Hill Academy in Ontario for four years of high school, was a special individual the first time they sat together in Tierney’s office in the shadow of the Colorado mountains. During a recruiting visit, Miller liked everything he heard and saw, but there was one question he couldn’t shake form his mind, and still hadn’t yet asked toward the end. Tierney sensed something was troubling Miller.
looking through the code of conduct before the interview,” said Miller’s mother, Dawn Colburn. “It said short, clean haircuts. He panicked and said, ‘I don’t know if I want to go here if I have to cut my hair.’ When they came and got him for the interview, it was the first question he asked. They saw his ponytail, and they said not to worry. Then he started to breathe again.”
According to Colburn, Miller’s hair
is “a connection with his identity as a Native American. He’s very proud of that.” Iroquois feel a deep connection
and bond with the sport played by their ancestors. There is an older generation that played in college, including Gewas Schindler at Loyola, Brett Bucktooth and Marshall Abrams at Syracuse, and Neal Powless at Nazareth. But a newer generation, including
Lyle, Miles and Ty Thompson at Albany, Randy Staats at Syracuse and Miller at Denver, are taking their love of the sport and unique outlook to different Division I schools. Miller, from the Seneca Nation,
is part of a younger generation of native players that will join several experienced players as part of the roster for the Iroquois Nationals at the FIL World Championship.
A Publication of US Lacrosse
©TERO WESTER
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