There are very few positions in the professional world with less job security than a coach. Even a successful season, one where you meet all the goals laid down for you, can lead to an immediate and unceremonious departure.
It demands long hours, enormous amounts of time away from your family and the understanding that even if you are at the top of the heap, you will still be surrounded by so-called experts who want to tell you how you could have done it better.
It’s a life that Colin Miller, FC Edmonton’s head coach and periodic stand-in for Canada’s national team, knows the hardships of well.
And despite his love for the job, he won’t feed you some fairy tale about ‘never trading it in for anything’ or oversell its ‘rewards.’ But he will tell you the blunt truth about soccer and the profession he’s been in for 35 years. And he’ll give you hope for how there can be lasting change for soccer in Canada.
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“We don’t do enough as a country to bring people together, to work together to try to raise the standards right across the country. It’s almost like: ‘oh this is my own little empire here. I don’t want anybody knowing this.’ People will hoard information for self preservation,” Miller said.
And it’s easy to understand where those oozing, misplaced attitudes spawn from. At just under a year of service at FC Edmonton, having just taken over at the end of November last year, Colin Miller is currently the longest serving coach with a Canadian team today. Not exactly an honour to be placed on your mantle.
“It’s a horrendous business to be in. I say that because I love it. I have really enjoyed my time here in Edmonton. We have a terrific owner, terrific general manager, fantastic staff and great players,” Miller said. “But I know if we have 12 draws next season, there is a real possibility that Colin Miller will no longer hold that somewhat tongue in cheek distinction you’ve mentioned.”
Having played and coached professionally on both sides of the proverbial pond and dotted his way across B.C. as he climbed the amateur coaching ranks, Miller has had his eyes opened to the precarious nature of the job – precarious both for his career and for his family.
“You don’t go into this line of work expecting to be in a job for 25 years,” Miller said. “But that’s the nature of the beast. You hope you can go into a job where you can build a program or a culture that has a lasting effect.”
A side effect of that dedication, is that it takes away from other areas of your life.
“I saw my wife and my kids four or five times this year. They live in Abbotsford (British Columbia) and I’m in Edmonton. Now that the season is over, I’ll get to spend six or seven weeks with them at home but I’ll still be working everyday from home.”
Again, there is no sugar coating.
“The toll it takes on a family is tremendous. It may be one of the reasons that I’m 29 years married next year — I’ve only seen her for seven of those. And it’s another reason why it’s a horrendous line of work,” Miller said. “I’ve been in the business since I was 17 and I’m 49 now. There is not a t-shirt I have not bought, mate. In terms of a family it’s obviously not the best way to go about it, but I care very much about trying to raise the standards for coaching and soccer in Canada.”
One of those ways he’s helping younger coaches is enacting what amounts to an open door policy around Clarke Stadium in Edmonton. Miller has made a habit of ensuring those without the closet of t-shirts get a chance to see what it takes to make it in the professional ranks.
“For a lot of guys coming through, they don’t understand what it takes to coach at the next level. Until they’re here and seeing it happen, it’s hard to understand what is expected,” Miller explained. “I’m not re-inventing the wheel here or something … But I’m trying to promote Canadians all the time. As you know, with my background and my experience, I’m desperate to see people advance. I don’t want to see them fail.”
But more than failure, it's about getting a chance. Miller says there is a gap between topping out on the amateur side of things and finding your way into the pro ranks. It's something Canada needs to do more of if their coaches are going to progress.
"I went through the youth ranks in Abbotsford. On average that type of profile position, head coach of the entire club or technical director, you would be looking at anything between $70,000 to $90,000 a year. It’s not the type of money you would walk away from. But where does a guy would go from something like that? Making the jump from youth to professional ranks is certainly in question. But right now, we’re not seeing that kind of transition to clubs like, say, a TFC."
And, according to Miller, it's not from a lack of talent. He points to some of the Canadian success stories south of the border.
"I don’t think there has been a lacking of quality on the top end. If you look at the opportunity Marc Watson and Nick Dasovic – both Canadians – have had in San Jose. Frank Yallop there before them. Marc Dos Santos now in Ottawa. There are guys getting work. But what I’d like to see is a Canadian guy get a chance at a Canadian MLS club. … It would be good to see Canadians in charge of Canadian clubs."
But as it is anywhere, success can breed jealousy — which comes full-circle to those insular attitudes that Miller mentioned.
“People get envious of success. Everybody in this line of work, as you will know, has an opinion. Everybody is an expert. If somebody succeeds, there is always somebody to shoot them down. That’s why I don’t try to blow my trumpet much, I just want to go about my work.”
Miller, along with a number of other coaching professionals, will put their heads down in January and go to work when the University of Toronto hosts the second annual National Soccer Coaching Conference. TFC Academy head coach Danny Dichio, Ottawa Fury Head Coach Marc Dos Santos and the CSA technical director Tony Fonseca also find themselves in the mix — as well as a number of other notable Canadian coaches.
The FC Edmonton coach will be running clinics over the three-day conference and keeping his own coaching license up to date at what he calls a “gathering of likeminded people.”
And while he speaks highly of the concept, he also addresses some of its pitfalls as well.
“What I would like to see too is a more open-minded approach. Instead of coming into a session and making a quick conclusion that you’ve seen this kind of session before and brushing it off as something you can’t learn anything from. Stay with it, watch and learn anything you can from it,” Miller said.
“Learn about that coach’s philosophy and take parts and add it to your own. Even if it’s a little thing. That’s the way that we raise the standards across the board. That’s the way we make better coaches in Canada and that’s the way we become better coaches ourselves.”