Delran girls basketball coach Pete Miles sets sights on retirement
High school girls basketball will feel a bit different next winter. Pete Miles, the dean of Burlington County coaches, has stepped away from the Bears program after 28 seasons. Miles, who retired from the school as a teacher, stepped away from the football program in 2017.
“It's been on the horizon for a couple years now,” Miles said. “I've been saying this and it seems so true. You never really know. It's never a good time to quit doing something that you really enjoy doing. I guess, as time passes on, sooner or later we all have to move in a new direction. That's how I felt about it.”
Delran posted a 21-8 record over the winter before bowing out in a South Jersey Group 2 semifinal. In his 28 years, he compiled a 426-266 record for a .616 winning percentage.
“I followed Jim Weber, who built a great program here,” Miles said. “I always felt my task was to try to just continue along that path. We did a pretty good job of that until the past few years when we dipped a little bit. I felt that I needed to get back to where it was, to leave things in place the way I found them to begin with.
Delran's Pete Miles has stepped down as the Head Girls Basketball coach after an amazing, successful career. Every coach, AD and official that crossed his path always had nothing but positive things to say. Thank you for always doing what was best for the Bears each year.
— Anthony Guidotti (@DelranAthletics) May 18, 2022
“We had a really nice year last year, a good season. We had a good time. I enjoyed it. And it just felt like Okay, we're back into that place where we started and good time to give someone else a chance.”
Miles had a 139-131 record on the football sidelines at Delran. Generations of Delran students were impacted by his gentlemanly presence on the Delran sidelines and workshops.
Nearly three decades after MIles began coaching, he saw the right moment to step away.
“I knew that I would coach for some time,” Miles said. “I didn't think there could be a reason why I wouldn't keep doing it as long as I was still working at the school. I actually enjoyed coaching sports as much as I enjoyed teaching at the school. I knew that wasn't going to stop me. I'm grateful that they allowed me to stick around for a number of years after retirement.”
Miles remains a rarity in two of the most hotly contested South Jersey high school sports. Miles is universally admired and respected by his peers and opponents.
“Every coach, AD and official that crossed his path always had nothing but positive things to say,” athletic director Anthony Guidotti said via twitter. “Thank you for always doing what was best for the Bears each year.”
Tom Rimback, sports reporter
Tom Rimback grew up reading the Burlington County Times and Courier Post sports sections and began writing for the BCT in 1996. He has covered everything from Super Bowls and Final Fours to Tri-County Swimming but he’s happiest on a sideline interviewing South Jersey scholastic athletes for the Burlington County Times, the Courier Post and The Daily Journal. Follow him on twitter @RimbackBCT. Email him with story ideas at trimback@thebct.com and, most importantly, support local journalism with a subscription.
Support local journalism with a subscription to the Courier Post, the Burlington County Times or the Daily Journal.
This article originally appeared on Burlington County Times: Pete Miles steps down as Delran girls basketbal coach after 28 seasons
