Sept. 26, 2006

Dreams really do come true.

Coach Rich Miranda was born in London, England. He spent the first 13 years of his life there with a soccer ball underfoot.

"Soccer was always a big part of my life," he said. When his parents moved to Toronto, Canada, he continued to play soccer and when the time came for him to enter college he was recruited by the College of William and Mary.

When William and Mary played Navy, Miranda met Greg Myers, Navy's head coach. Myers became his mentor and best friend. During the summer when Miranda wasn't playing soccer for William and Mary, he helped Myers with Navy soccer camps.

When Miranda became first assistant coach at Richmond and later assistant coach at William and Mary, the two coached against each other, but they still remained friends.

As a student at William and Mary, Miranda had friends who would bring their speed boat onto the Severn River and into the Chesapeake Bay. At those times he would look at the Naval Academy and dream about coaching at Navy.

"It was something I always thought about," Miranda said.

Of course, he was also ambitious to be head coach. In 1990, he was on the brink of achieving that goal. He was offered two head coaching jobs and was set to decide between the two by the end of the week.

Just as he was making that momentous decision, he was offered a third alternative * to become a physical education instructor and assistant soccer coach at Navy. He took the job.

His first 15 years at Navy were spent as assistant coach to Myers. When Myers retired from coaching in 2005, Miranda became head coach. During his first year as head coach, he became Navy's first Patriot League Coach of the Year.

His team tied for fifth place in the Patriot League. It also tied for the 15th best improvement in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, coming from a 3-10-4 record in 2004 to an 8-6-2 record in 2005.

Miranda's philosophy is to make the team a family. "Whatever we do," he says, "win or lose, we are all in it together."

He expects excellence from his team, both on and off the field. If his players don't keep their grades up, they can't play soccer.

"I have a great staff, which provides a great support group for the kids," Miranda said. "If they need guidance, we provide it. The challenge is for them (the players) to keep up in the classroom, in the military, and on the soccer field."

He advises them to work hard. "Hard work will reward you," Miranda said. "That's in anything you do."

One of the highlights of working at the academy, he says, is that everyone is very professional and everyone has a passion for what they do.

"They are great kids to work with," he said. "They're hard working and dedicated. They have talent and the desire to win."

The ultimate success for Miranda comes when he sees the success that his players achieve after graduation. "That's the most rewarding thing," he said, "to know that I've made an impact on their lives."

Miranda found out just how much of an impact he had made when he applied for the head coach job. "I got support letters from so many players," he said, "including one from a bunk hole in Iraq. I've kept every letter. They bring tears to my eyes to know how much they care about everything we've done for them.

"My job title may be soccer coach but helping them to get their degree from the academy is what it's all about. I love the institution and believe in what it's all about."