Windermere Prep girls basketball coach steps down

After her third season leading the Windermere Prep girls varsity basketball team, head basketball coach Radhika Miller won’t be returning with the Lady Lakers to the court next year.

Instead, she will head down to Sarasota, where she has accepted the head girls basketball coach position at Sarasota High School. 

“My entire experience here — and moving forward — has been nothing but positive and supportive,” she said. “I truly believe that Windermere Prep helps prepare the leaders of tomorrow as students and as professionals.”

Miller said the three years she called Windermere Prep home was nothing short of special thanks to all the relationship-building experiences she got to live as part of the Lakers family with all her athletes and students. 

“I’ve had the opportunity to build some great relationships with players and families and colleagues here and they all have been so welcoming,” Miller said. “When this position opened up, it seemed like the right opportunity at the right time for my family and (me) … to start something new and build something new. And so we did.” 

LAKER LEGACY

During her time at Windermere Prep, Miller left her mark at the school. The Lakers made their first regional appearances in 2021 and 2023. They also claimed district runner-up honors all three of Miller’s seasons — 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 — and had the most success in the program during her last season with the Lady Lakers — 2022-23 — with a 17-9 overall record. 

However, for her, the legacy she hopes she left ingrained in the hearts of her players is not one that can be measured in numbers. 

“I would like for my legacy here at Windermere Prep to be kind of similar to what my coaching philosophy was when I started coaching,” Miller said. “I’m a very defense-oriented coach, so that would be based upon a legacy of hard work, putting in the hours and commitment to your goals, structure, discipline and just fighting hard for … what you want to achieve.”

During her years with the Lakers, Miller — along with the support and collaboration of the athletic department at the school — was able to increase the number of girls who are interested in trying out for girls basketball and making the team. 

“We have a solid middle-school program now; we have a solid high school program; and I just see that continuing,” she said. “We even have some kids who are playing travel ball in a program. So, I’ve seen the interesting girls basketball here doubling, tripling, in the last three years. That makes me so happy, because I know that I’ve shared the love and the passion I have for the game.” 

That love started when Miller was in third grade. She recalls playing with her two older brothers — Bryan and Chris Miller — back in her hometown of Crossville, Tennessee. 

“I grew up with a basketball in my hand,” she said. “So, besides my parents, basketball was my best friend growing up; it (has always) been a part of me. I was able to channel so much of my competitive edge and enthusiasm and energy through the sport, and so it became a huge part of my life. Then it continued through college and into my own family.” 

As she grew up playing through middle school and high school, Miller moved on to play at the collegiate level for two years at Northwest-Shoals Community College in Alabama and later at the University of North Alabama. That was when Miller realized she had found her lifelong passion: education. 

“I knew immediately that my playing career was over, but I had to stay involved,” she said. “I wanted to continue to share the passion I had for the game and the love I had for the game of basketball — and just educate young people. And so, it was an easy decision for me to get involved in education, get involved in leadership. … I always consider myself more than a coach, because you are (both), a teacher and a coach. 

“So, I’ve always taught in the classroom — whether it’d be history, government, health and wellness — and then I’ve also coached,” Miller said. “It was easy for me to make the career choice. Once I finished (college), I knew exactly what I wanted to do, and I always will. … The impact and the blessed opportunity that you have in that position can change life, and I think that’s, overall, probably the biggest blessing that I’ve been given in coaching, is the ability to impact and changes lives.” 

Miller’s last day with the Lakers will be the last day of school. Then, come summer, she and her family will relocate to Sarasota to start a new chapter of their lives. 

“I’ll definitely miss the students and their families here, the support I’ve had from them, as well as my colleges... (because) they became my family when I moved here from Tennessee,” she said. “I will miss that because I’ve developed a great support crew here. … I will definitely miss the relationships (even though) those relationships will continue no matter where I am. But I’ll definitely miss the interaction that I had over the past three years with all the families and the players and my colleagues here.”