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 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption:
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Miranda Utilizing Command of Princeton Culture As He Starts Tenure in Director of Athletics Post
By Bill Alden
The blueprint for the construction of the new Princeton High athletic facilities stared down at him from the wall in his office. His desk was crammed with paperwork that demanded his attention. John Miranda knew he had plenty on his plate, literally and figuratively, when he arrived for work on July 1 at PHS for his first day on the job as the new Director of Athletics for the Princeton Regional Schools.
"I had stacks of papers on my desk," said the genial Miranda with a smile, sitting in his office in the lower level of Princeton High. "I threw away a whole trashcan of stuff and that was just from the desk. I still have one more drawer to go."
Miranda, 46, a longtime PHS business education teacher and head baseball coach, realizes that he has a lot more than paperwork to tackle as he replaces Eric Amkraut in the AD post.
"With all this construction, I' m trying to help minimize the distractions and maybe some of the obstacles," said Miranda, noting that the school' s new gymnasium is currently under construction with new tennis courts and playing fields to be built later.
"I' m concerned with the fields we have right now and working with our grounds crew to make sure that we are on top of the maintenance and upkeep of the fields. I want to try to improve the condition of the fields. I want to make sure that our coaches have all of the equipment they need to compete."
For Miranda, his extensive experience on the PHS diamond and in the classroom drove him to take on the challenge of the athletics director job which has seen Amkraut, Ernie Benson, and John Curtis serve in the post since 2002.
"I' ve been a teacher here for a while and I' ve been a coach here for a while," explained Miranda, who guided the PHS baseball team to an 11-14 record this spring, a marked improvement on the team' s 2-19 mark in 2004.
"I felt it was time for me to put that knowledge and experience to good work for the district. I' ve coached in the CVC for a while so from an athletic standpoint, I understand what' s going on here. I' ve been teaching here for a while so I understand the culture of Princeton."
From Miranda' s vantage point, that culture promotes excellence in the classroom and on the playing fields.
"We' re unique, we have a different combination of athletics and academics here than in most schools in the state," asserted Miranda.
"We are extremely academically oriented but we are able to produce some great athletes and outstanding teams. Look at the golf team this past spring, it was amazing. The swimming and soccer teams are usually strong."
Miranda points to such stars as the recently graduated Robby Begin as exemplifying what can result from the dual emphasis at PHS.
"My best baseball player this spring was Robby Begin," said Miranda, who noted that he will likely stop coaching the baseball team due to the responsibilities of his new post.
"Not only is he an outstanding baseball player, he' s going to Georgetown to play baseball. That is a great academic institution. The kids here have a great opportunity to be good athletes and fantastic in the school setting."
Miranda' s duties aren' t limited to PHS as he is also in charge of the John Witherspoon middle school athletics program.
"One of things I' ve been charged with this year is the continuation of the effort to improve the middle school program," added Miranda.
"Last year, the number of practices was increased from three a week to five. This year we are going to increase the amount of games. I think that it' s a three-tiered program. By the third year, we want to have the amount of games at the same level of everybody else we are competing against."
Whether it' s at PHS or the middle school level, Miranda sees coaches as the vital link in the sports chain.
"The coaches are the whole key to this," maintained Miranda. "We have some really good coaches, I know just about every one of them personally. I have been touching base with the coaches to make sure that the lines of communication are open."
The community as a whole has been communicating positively with Miranda.
"It' s been very positive," said Miranda, reflecting on the response he has received since being announced as the new AD.
"I' ve gotten all kinds of calls from the community; people have been congratulating me and telling me they are excited and that they can' t wait to talk to me. It' s a window of opportunity. There are a lot of new ideas that can be brought forward. I think we can use some of those ideas they have out there."
Miranda believes his experience in the Marines, which saw him serve a stint in the Middle East in 2002-03 as a logistics officer, gives him the wherewithal to execute new approaches.
"You learn about teamwork and having everybody working toward one goal," explained Miranda, who noted that he dealt with multi-million dollar inventories in helping to move and support troops in the Iraq conflict. "You learn the importance of character and hard work. These are all things that carry over into athletics."
With the leadership qualities that Miranda brings to the table, it appears that the Princeton athletics program is in good hands.
