Photo courtesy of Jessica Herndon
Myra Miles and the Brooks High School softball team stand in front of the new "Myra Miles Field" sign.
Myra Miles may currently be the athletic director at Vestavia Hills High School, but she has never forgotten where she cut her teeth in her successful career in high school athletics.
On March 21, Brooks High School renamed its softball field Myra Miles Field, in honor of the coach who spent a decade at the school.
Miles was at Brooks — a small community in northwest Alabama — from 1989 to 1999, coaching multiple sports and winning the 1994 state softball championship. Brooks honored that state championship team the same evening, with this spring marking the 30-year anniversary of that title.
Brooks still plays on the field that Miles and others within the softball program, school and community built in the early 1990s.
“It’s tremendously humbling and one of the greatest achievements I can say I’ve had, and that’s because so many people played a part in me being able to have the field named Myra Miles Field. It’s been cool. When I drove up to the field [that day], it blew me away,” Miles said.
Brooks is one of many places Miles has left her imprint. She had stops in coaching and athletic administration over the years at Haleyville, Saint James, Coffee and Hoover as well.
Many of her friends and colleagues from previous career stops made the trip to Brooks to celebrate the evening with her.
“It’s just mind-boggling, and I’m thankful,” she said. “It really brings things into perspective for you. I don’t know how other people feel when they have things named after them, but it was one of the most rewarding things because of how many people played a part in it.”
There’s no shortage of people ready and willing to offer praise for how Miles has positively affected their lives.
“Coach Miles means so much to the Brooks community,” current Hoover High softball coach Trey Matlock said.
Matlock would know, considering he went to school at Brooks and was hired by Miles at Hoover when she was the athletics director there.
“She’s a legend,” Matlock said. “The number of former players that took part in the ceremony just reflects on how much of an impact she has had on them as a coach. I am so grateful for the impact she has had on me to get me where I am today.”
Mountain Brook Athletics Director Andy Urban was also on hand at the ceremony. He, like Matlock, was hired by Miles at Hoover, where Urban followed her as AD.
“Myra has been instrumental in my career,” Urban said. “Always there to listen and encourage. Being at the field-naming ceremony even more solidified her belief in others. Former players, administrators, coaches and parents all shared in her accomplishments. I was thankful to be there.”
Miles was able to speak to the Brooks softball team while she was there. Her message is one that is evidenced by her career.
“Who would’ve ever thought my career would’ve gone the way it did? It was because people believed in me and I believed in myself,” she said.
