Staff Christmas Party

Tonight we hosted our annual Christmas party for my staff at OIT.
We always have a nice time together. It's cool to work with people who,
when it's time for the obligatory holiday party, you actually look forward seeing them.

Back: Palmer, Angela, Marleigh, Kathy, Brandy and John.
Front: Sheri, Debbie and Andrea.

Jeannette and MelodyJoy

We do an ornament exchange each year.
Brandy got the ornament I brought,
which was perfect since I actually picked it out with her in mind.
She loves birds and now she works for a school with a Hustlin' Owl mascot,
so I bought an owl ornament.

Sheri opens one of the ornaments.

Rick, Kathy's husband, and John posture
when it comes time to steal ornaments.

Melody with my Santa ornament.

Number 800

Last night was a big night for the Oregon Tech Hustlin' Owls. They were playing in Salem against George Fox University, an NCAA III team, in the Corban College tourney. The game started out rough but midway through the first half, the guys got their act together and made it close. In the second half, they ran away with it, 84-73. OIT is 12-0 on the season now. No big deal. Just another win.

The big deal is this: Coach Danny Miles recorded his 800th career victory last night, all at OIT. He is in his 36th season at Tech. He is now #9 on the all-time wins list.

A neat angle on last night's game is that Levell Hesia, OIT's All-American point guard really took the game over when the Owls were struggling. Levell ended up with 27 points on the night. He's the only person on the court who, at about 5'5", is shorter than Coach Miles. I wonder if sometimes Coach watches Levell and flashes back to his own playing days. I'm sure Levell took special pleasure in making sure he got that 800th win right on schedule.

I've worked with a number of basketball coaches over the last 20+ years. Some were great people. Some were very successful. It's been rare to find coaches that were both. Dan Miles is one of them. Here is a guy who . . .

• was an All-American quarterback and still holds some national passing records, I'm told . . .
  
• was also all-region in baseball and all-conference in basketball, even though he stands only about 5'6" . . .
• has been named to multiple halls of fame . . .
• lives in a beautiful house at the Running Y resort . . .
  
• took a team that was 1-21 the year before he started at OIT and, over time, built it into a program that has gone to nationals 11 times, winning the national championship in 2004 . . .
• basically owns the city of Klamath Falls.

According to the OIT website, "Miles was named NAIA Division II Mens Basketball Coach of the year in 2004 as well as being honored as the recipient of the A.T. Slats Gill All-Sports Coach of the Year (2004) and received the 2005 Cascade Conference Coach of the Year Award. Miles has been named Conference All-Sport Coach of the Year on four occasions. Other honors awarded Miles include: Conference Coach of the Year (six times), Northwest Coach of the Year (twice), West Coast Coach of the Year (once), and was a finalist for National Coach of the Year in 1974."

In other words, he could be a real jerk and get away with it. But he isn't. Yeah, basketball is his focus, but it's not what makes his world go 'round. The coolest part of this story for me is that about four years ago, Dan Miles became a Christian.

To me, it's amazing to see someone who seems to be successful, well-liked and happy realize that there's still something missing in his life. Danny doesn't talk about his faith a lot, but it colors everything he does now. He helped start a Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter at OIT. He gave copies of The Purpose-Driven Life to his team a couple years ago. He no longer looks to run up the score on weaker teams. And I get the sense that he has a new balance in his life and truly is happy now. Watching his teams play on Danny Miles Court is probably my favorite aspect of life at OIT.