New Eagles coach excited for the challenge

BELEN — Justin Miller has crammed a lot of baseball experience into a relatively short period of time, and he believes he’s prepared to take over the Belen Eagles program.

Miller, who will turn 25 years old at the end of July, was recently hired to replace veteran coach Tom Wisneski, who retired at the end of last season.

“The Wisneski name, everybody knows the pedigree that comes with it, as well as Belen — it’s one of those jobs that doesn’t come open every day,” Miller said.

Despite the history of Eagles’ baseball, Miller seems unfazed by the coaching challenge.

“Not to toot my own horn, but I know I’m good at it — I’m not worried at all about the jump,” Miller said.

With just one year of head coaching experience, at Silver High School last season, Miller believes his baseball resume has prepared him for the job.

There was a state championship in 2017 at Roswell Goddard, where he was a standout pitcher. From there, he played ball at a “little community college” and at what was then Robert Morris University-Illinois.

After his playing days, the baseball “bug” didn’t go away. Nor did the coaching itch that developed in high school while leading his brother’s 7-on-7 football team.

Allen Edmonson, one of the most winning coaches in New Mexico history, hired Miller to lead the junior varsity program at Organ Mountain in Las Cruces. Miller recalled Edmonson telling him, “Run your own practice, deal with parents, in-game adjustments, just to get your feet wet so when the time comes (to be a head coach) it won’t be a complete shock to you.”

After two seasons at Organ Mountain, Miller took the head coaching job at Silver, inheriting a team that went 2-22. Silver posted an 8-16 mark during Miller’s only campaign with the Fighting Colts, which included victories over rivals Deming and Santa Teresa.

There was also an increase in the number of players who came out for the team, according to Miller, who will be a woodworking teacher at BHS.

Expectations will be high once again for the Belen Eagles, who are coming off a 20-9 season and an appearance in the 4A quarterfinals.

BHS loses several key players, including Christian Wilson, Brysen Soiles and Angel Garcia, but Miller believes there are “some big pieces” returning.

Miller says he won’t be outworked.

“I take great pride in all that,” embracing the Eagles’ tradition of success.

He says he’s committed to not “squander” the opportunity.

“Knowing the history here in Belen, this city, this town deserves a state championship, in all honesty,” he said. “That’s the ultimate goal.”

Albuquerque is Miller’s birthplace, while his mother is from Roswell; his father’s hometown is Farmington. However, with his father, a 25-year member of the U.S. Secret Service, the family moved around the country to places that included California and Texas.

Still, Miller says, “I’m a New Mexican through and through,” adding that Belen is a “place I want to put down roots in.”