PREP ATHLETICS: Miller leading Northridge strength and conditioning program

Sep. 28—MIDDLEBURY — Over the past couple of years, multiple schools around the area — within the Northern Lakes Conference in particular — have put an added emphasis on strength and conditioning for their athletes.

Last year, both Goshen and Concord added positions that oversee the entire operation within the weight room for all of the school's athletes. NorthWood and Wawasee have also recently added strength coaches as well.

Other area schools have started to take notice of the success, hoping to provide some of the same benefits for their own student body.

The most recent school to do that resides in Middlebury, with Northridge High School making the decision to hire Aron Miller as the school's strength and conditioning coach in May after creating the position in March.

Miller officially started in mid-July and has made great strides with his students in just two short months.

"I couldn't ask for anything better," said Miller of the progress he's made building relationships with the athletes at Northridge. "The kids could care less about what you know about strength and conditioning. They care more about whether you care for them. To be able to establish relationships with these kids helps make things in (the weight room) go more smoothly. I want these kids to know that they are cared for. Relationships are everything in here, and I think it's really helping establish a culture."

Miller, 31, is a Northern Indiana native, having grown up in the area before attending Lakeland High School in LaGrange.

After graduation, Miller went on to play football and pursue an undergraduate degree in exercise science at Manchester University in North Manchester, Indiana.

After graduating in 2013, Miller took a graduate assistant position coaching football at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas.

During that time, he began to realize his calling to teach within the weight room.

"During my four years in college, I got more fine-tuned with all the different styles of training," Miller said. "At that point, I knew I wanted to be a part of it in some capacity.

"At the NAIA school in Kansas I coached at, one of my additional duties was the weight room. That's when I knew I wanted to do this all the time. At that point, I knew I needed to make myself a little more marketable, so that's when graduate school came into play."

Miller would then choose to further his education in Indiana at Ball State University, eventually earning himself a masters degree in kinesiology and sports performance.

Most recently, Miller lived in Oklahoma, working at Mustang High School as a strength and conditioning specialist.

While he enjoyed his experience at Mustang, having the chance to move closer to home with his wife, Ashlea, was an opportunity he couldn't say no to.

"That played a huge factor," said Miller of moving closer to home. "My father lives about 15 minutes from here, and my wife and I are both from Indiana. ... We had a discussion of where we wanted to be after we got married, and we thought being around our family and friends was the most important factor. I didn't know if we'd get the opportunity to come back here to Indiana, but I'm glad we did, and I'm glad this position came open."

As of now, Miller has already made a lot of progress molding the weight room at Northridge into what he wants it to become. So far, Miller has added both technology and equipment and will continue to push for expansion into the future.

"The administration has been supportive already in terms of some of the things I've wanted to get for our kids," Miller said. "One of which was technology and the 'teambuildr' (software) was a step toward that. In terms of weight room equipment, we're getting there. We're in the early stages of getting something accomplished right now. I've worked with a couple fitness reps that have come through the school recently as well. So, I think it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when, when it comes to adding on to things in here in the future."

During the day-to-day, Miller works with around 245 kids throughout the week in 9th-12th grade. He says that number will expand once he begins working with and developing students in grades 6th-8th.

"That's a big vision for me here," said Miller of adding younger kids to the weight room. "I want to establish a good pipeline of athletes here. That's the biggest return of investment. Being able to have a set foundation for (the middle schoolers) to where they can come in here as freshman and already know the terminology and know how to do the fundamental things, so that we can apply it to training. That, to me, is a huge difference maker."

Early on with the Raiders, it's clear Miller has already made a huge impact on athletics at Northridge High School.

Just like at Goshen and Concord, the new strength and conditioning position strongly benefits all athletes and gives an added advantage to the programs looking to establish a winning culture.

Miller knows that, and he's happy to bring his knowledge and vision behind crucial physical fitness to Middlebury.

"It keeps our athletes as healthy as possible," said Miller when asked about the importance of his position. "For the NLC alone to pack in all of these strength coaches is awesome to see, because it means we're caring for our kids and we're teaching them to be fundamentally sound. ... If these kids have ambitions to play at the college level, they're going to take a lot away from here to be able to apply it at that next level.

"I think it gives schools like Northridge a competitive edge as well, because programs like ours are going to be more athletic and less prone to injury because of what we're doing. It's truly a game changer."

Evan Lepak can be reached at evan.lepak@goshennews.com or 574-533-2151, ext. 240326. Follow him on Twitter @EvanMPLepak.