By STEVE BRADLEY
When George Strickland took his first job in the fall of 1964, he had no idea that he was about to meet the finest high school athlete that he would encounter in his three decades as a teacher and coach.
Fresh out of Ithaca College, Strickland landed in the Allegany County town of Friendship where he was hired as a physical education teacher as well as boys basketball and track coach.
Strickland’s arrival coincided with Dennis “Dennie” Miles entering high school as a ninth grader. Miles and his friends were much more interested in sports than academics at the time and made an immediate connection with Strickland, who was coming off a standout career as both a basketball and baseball player with the Bombers.
“I think he was just a role model to all of us, not just me, but my whole inner circle of friends back then,” Miles said. “He just gave us the direction and acted like a father figure for us, and back then that was extremely important to all of us.”
Miles, who starred in soccer, basketball, baseball and track at Friendship, made an early impression on the new coach.
“I mostly remember him just wanting to learn everything that he could from all angles,” Strickland said. “He didn’t want to miss anything, and he was just very secure in what he did.
“In the 30 years that I taught and coached in three different schools, he’s the top athlete that I ever worked with, Just the all-around skill and mental level, he just did whatever it was going to take.”
Miles’ athletic exploits included scoring a then state-record eight goals in a varsity soccer game on Sept. 25, 1967, totaling 1,224 career points as an Allegany County All-Star in basketball, batting .450 in baseball and also lettering in track. In fact, Gatehouse Media named Miles the best overall athlete in its “Greatest In High School Sports” supplement published in 2013.
As his high school years progressed, Miles began to think that he might be able to find a career path in athletics.
“Coming from a small school back then, sports were kind of like a way out,” Miles said. “There were a lot of poor families, and it seemed that sports were the one thing that we could do and be successful at. Sports is kind of what made me because I was headed down the wrong direction when I was younger and, through sports, I found that I could possibly go somewhere and do something.”
Did he ever.
Athletics have taken Miles on a 50-plus year journey where he has impacted hundreds of lives as a high school coach and athletic director.
The 76-year-old reached the pinnacle on April 14 when his Genesee Valley-Belfast baseball team defeated Eldred, 5-1, for his New York State Public High School Athletic Association record 807th career victory as a varsity baseball coach.
While Miles, the first of his friends to go to his college, may not have seen his potential way back when, Strickland did.
“I sure did, it was what he was around for,” Strickland said. “Just the way he worked with his own teammates was such an encouragement for them. We had a couple of guys that were not the strongest athletes and he helped them along.”
Taking flight
After graduating from Friendship, Miles enrolled at SUNY-Brockport, where he started on the freshman soccer, basketball and baseball teams. Thinking that his future might be as a shortstop, he focused on baseball and was named to the all-conference team for three years.
Being the first in his family to attend college, Miles faced other challenges and credits Strickland and Bill Rollo, a local businessman who treated him like a son and helped him pay his way through college.
“They were very successful people, and I looked at them and went, ‘There’s got to be something more in life than just going to work or going in the military,’” Miles said. “I felt that I could do something more with my life, maybe become something different.”
As graduation day approached, Miles’ goals shifted away from playing as he was hired as a physical education teacher at Wellsville in 1972.
He made his debut as varsity baseball coach for the Lions in 1976, embarking on a 42-year run that saw his teams win 718 games and 12 Section V championships, including four straight titles from 1990-93.
Miles, who became the athletic director at Wellsville in 1983, also coached boys soccer (209-128-27 record and two Section V titles) and boys basketball (89-42) during his 46 years with the district.
Miles took over as the head coach at Avoca in 2019, leading the Tigers to the Section V Class D2 title in his inaugural season and the combined Avoca-Prattsburgh Titans to the 2023 Class D1 crown.
Miles moved on to Genesee Valley/Belfast in 2023, and has compiled a 34-6 record, including 17-1 this spring, in parts of two seasons with the Jaguars.
“He completely changed the culture at our school the past two years,” GV/B senior pitcher and corner infielder Ryan Daciw said. “He made us into winners.”
How does he do it?
If you talk to those who know Miles best, they’ll tell you that aside from being less “ornery,” his coaching philosophy hasn’t changed much over his 49 seasons. He works hard and expects everyone associated with the program to do the same.
“My biggest philosophy is I try to make it a family atmosphere amongst the coaches, myself, and the players,” Miles said. “Once you make kids realize that you care about them – not only as a player but as a person – they’ll run through the wall for you. If they sense that you really don’t care about them other than what they offer you on the field, then they tune you out right away.”
Tim Hardy first met Miles as a 10-year-old. He had just pitched a Little League game and Miles approached him to congratulate him on his efforts. The varsity coach also asked him what he thought his best position was.
“Pitcher,” Hardy replied.
“I think you are going to be a catcher,” Miles said.
Miles was right.
“I played one game my sophomore year on varsity at third base, and the rest of my career I think I caught every inning but three for the next three years,” said Hardy, who won Section V Class A titles in 1992 and ’93 and now serves as one of the junior varsity coaches for GV/B.
“He coached us back 30 years ago the same way he coaches kids now,” Hardy said. “He’s not as ornery now, but he can relate to the players of today and they are different than the players of my generation.”
Miles also uses words like demanding, commitment and accountability when describing his style, others mention his work ethic, attention to detail and ability to teach the game.
“His attention to detail and planning is unmatched,” said Bryan Depew, a 2010 Wellsville graduate who was on the mound for the final out of the Lions’ Class B title win over Greece Odyssey 15 years ago and is a co-coach for the GV/B junior varsity squad. “Every day he shows up to practice and he’s got his little notebook that it’s filled at least one page, maybe two, depending on how long we’re going be there and he has it broken down into what we are going to work on that day. … From the moment you walk into the gym as a player, you know what you’re doing that day. He’s top of the line when it comes to planning.”
John Anderson, who served as an assistant coach under Miles for nearly two decades, learned this first-hand on his first day on the job.
“He had a cabinet with all these folders from every year, every practice and he just walked his fingers back to 1985 like the old Yellow Pages and just pulled out day one of practice and said, ‘Here you go, let’s just do this today,’” Anderson, who is now an assistant coach at Wellsville, said. “I wound up just going to those practices and whatever he did, I did. I just copied everything he did for 18 years.”
That includes focusing on making the most of time inside the gym to execute rundowns and infield defense while also setting up several hitting stations to focus on specific skills.
“He is the best teacher of the game of baseball that I have ever seen,” Anderson said. “He is always learning, always adapting.”
And always working.
“It’s not a two-month or three-month season for him,” Depew said. “He’s coaching year-round. As soon as the season’s over, he’s already building lineups for the next year. He’s looking at what kids are coming up from jayvee. He’s working to implement things to be better the next year.
“Sometimes in New York people throw baseball to the wayside for a few months when the weather gets cold, but he never does. He’s always coaching.”
How long will he go?
With the NYSPHSAA record safely in hand, Miles’ place in Section V and New York state history is secure, yet he is showing no signs of slowing down.
He stays in shape by walking eight miles per day, including about four in a morning round of golf with his buddies, as well as activities such as roller blading, pickle ball and biking.
“I try to bring passion every day,” Miles said. “There might be better coaches out there, but nobody’s ever going to outwork me, and I think I bring that work ethic every day. Four things that drive me right now are my family, my friends, my faith, and my health, and as long as I have those things driving me and as long as I still have that passion to win and passion to achieve things, I’m just going take it one year at a time, but I don’t see myself getting out.”
Especially, with the support of his wife, Christy.
“She’s the driving force,” Miles says. “She’s been so supportive because she realizes what a passion I have for coaching. She’s 25 years younger than me which has helped me stay younger. She’s been a tremendous inspiration for me to keep me going. She keeps pushing me to do what you love as long as you can.”
Miles is fond of saying, “playing baseball is fun, but winning baseball games is more fun.” In addition to being inducted into the Allegany County Athletics and Section V Baseball halls of fame, he is one of the few amateurs inducted into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame, which is filled with Yankees, Mets and broadcasting legends. His induction came in 2021 and those honored that day included former New York Yankees stars Bernie Williams and Bobby Richardson, former New York Mets Cleon Jones and Mookie Wilson and filmmaker Ken Burns.
“It was the biggest thrill,” Miles said. “There were like 450 people there and of course I was very nervous to have to get up and speak in front of all of them. These other people had a lot of professional stories and funny things to tell and I didn’t have any of that to talk about, so I basically just talked about people that meant the most to me through my journey. It was a wonderful experience.”
Miles, who prides himself on providing memorable experiences for his players, is hoping to make another strong run this year. Genesee Valley/Belfast enters this week with a 17-1 record and currently sits third in the Section V Class C2 seedings.
After advancing to the Class D championship last season, GV/B would like to make another run in what has already been an historic season.
“Being in the history books is special,” Daciw said. “I know that all of his wins didn’t come from our school or from our team, but being successful with him right now is pretty special.”
As always, Miles is putting in the work.
“Before he started coaching at our school, our sports were kind of mediocre, and he molded us into winners and reshaped our program,” senior second baseman Ty Hutchison said, noting that Miles took videos of each player’s swing this season to find ways to break them down and improve.
“I think he mixes in old school with the new way of baseball with technology and stuff like that.”
For Strickland, who is now in his mid-80s, watching Miles’ success has been a thrill.
“It’s been great just keeping track of him over the years,” Strickland said. “It’s only fitting with the wins and his attention to details. With his all-around capabilities of teaching while coaching, this is not surprising to me at all. It has been a pleasure having worked with him.”
Miles, who doesn’t like to take much time to reflect, is also grateful as he prepares for his next challenge.
“It has been a tremendous journey,” Miles said. “It has been a blessing to work with kids and motivate them to do things that they possibly didn’t think they could do. That’s what keeps me going.”
The Miles File
Name: Dennis “Dennie” Miles
Occupation: Varsity baseball coach at Genesee Valley/Belfast
Years coaching: 49
Record holder: Miles became the winningest high school baseball coach in New York State Public High School Athletic Association history when he recorded victory No. 807 against Eldred on April 14.
Why do you wear number nine? When I first started coaching, I handed the numbers out to the players and there were only two or three players left. I took nine in honor of our town team coach. His name was Red Fleming, and he wore it. I just thought, well, I’ll choose number nine for Red.”
Favorite sports team: Buffalo Bills.
Favorite Major League Baseball team: New York Yankees.
Favorite MLB player: Carl Yastrzemski.
Favorite food: Probably a good old-fashioned cheeseburger.
Favorite movie: Silence of the Lambs.
Hobbies: Just anything to keep me active golf, walking, roller blading, biking and pickleball.
Great article! I graduated from Friendship Central Class of 68 with Dennie and again from
Brockport State in 72. My HS years with Coach George Strickland and Michele Strickland as our PE teachers were the best. The small town itself fostered and encouraged success. Dennie is a prime example, very proud of his accomplishments!
Great article on Coach Miles. Congratulations to Dennie on setting an amazing record. We were teammates at Brockport in the early 70s, and he was our shortstop and captain. None of us are surprised at what he’s accomplished as a coach.
I travelled to NY to see my friend from 2nd grade break the record and all he could talk about was the kids he’s got coming up next year. He never quits coaching
Dennie congratulations on this tremendous accomplishment. We coached many years against each other. Our competitive spirit was always evident, and we had some memorable games. I always respected competing against any Dennie Miles team, because they were always so well prepared, and always came to win. We also worked many yeas together at a baseball clinic at Lemoyne College in Syracuse NY. I truly respect you as a coach, for what you have contributed to the kids who played this wonderful game we call baseball. Again continue to keep going as long as you have the physical and mental ability to do it.
Played with Denny on the ’72 SUNY Brockport championship team. He was a leader then and still is. Congratulations my friend on a great career! Keep it going!
A sincere Congrats to you, Dennie!!! As your former Baseball coach at SUNY Brockport when you helped lead the 1972 team to its first SUNYAC Championship, I couldn’t be more proud of you and what you’ve accomplished since graduating. And I’m quite sure all of your 72′ teammates feel the same way. You are very deserving of this honor and I am absolutely delighted that you received it. All the best to you and Christy.