George Miles
Growing up in Rumson, New Jersey, George A. Miles lived strategically (and perhaps prophetically) within walking distance of both the beach and the public library. After finishing high school, where he played varsity football and track and was editorial page editor for the school newspaper, he headed off to Yale, which has been his academic and intellectual home ever since. As an undergraduate, he played freshman football and freshman lacrosse and graduated with a B.A. (1974) cum laude, with distinction, in history.
While in graduate school at Yale (M.A. in history, 1975, and M.Phil. in history 1977), he took a job coaching elementary-age children at the Wallingford Swim Club; and the combination of Yale and swimming has persisted for nearly thirty years. Coaching during his post-graduate studies, George maintains, allowed him to feel connected to something other than school and helped him feel part of the real world. Upon finishing his graduate work, George taught in both New Haven and North Haven. Then in 1981 he was offered the position he holds to this day: Curator of the Yale Collection of Western Americana at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. His responsibilities include not only acquisition and supervision but also education; and, in his own words, "This is the only job I want for the rest of my life. It combines all of my interests." In addition to this primary responsibility, however, he has also taught courses at Yale, Columbia, and University of Virginia.
After coaching in Wallingford for five years and at the New Haven Swim Club for three, for twenty years George has been the head coach of the Branford Recreation Department Sting Rays Swim Team, working with youngsters as young as seven who can barely swim one lap. His natural teaching instincts as well as his coaching ability build in his swimmers skills and confidence that will last them the rest of their lives as he teaches them that much of what they learn as athletes can also be applied to family life, schoolwork, and other life situations. In addition to teaching current swimming techniques and building endurance, George teaches his young swimmers to believe in themselves and their teammates, while somehow avoiding the problem of "swimmer burnout." He discusses every race performance with each swimmer, transforming individual success and failure into a learning experience for the child. While demanding one hundred percent effort from his swimmers, he displays compassion for the individual and stresses that swimming is but one facet of the swimmer's life. When his young swimmers have finished their Sting Ray careers, they are confident young adults, ready for the rest of their lives-in large part due to the selfless efforts of George Miles. He takes great pride in the growth of the team over the past twenty years (now one of the largest in the state for its age group) and values its close ties with the Branford High School swim program.
He and his wife, Nancy, have three sons: George, a student at Yale, and Kevin and Gregory, both students at Branford High School.
Despite the demands of career, coaching, and family life, George finds time to be of service elsewhere. In the past, he has served on various committees at Yale, on the Branford-Guilford Pool Committee, and the Connecticut Swimming Board of Directors. He also taught religious education at St. Therese Church for five years working with junior-high and high-school students. He has authored or edited eight books and has also published numerous essays. He is justifiably proud of the continued importance of the Yale Collection of Western Americana and the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library and its place both in Yale's curriculum and in international scholarship.
While in graduate school at Yale (M.A. in history, 1975, and M.Phil. in history 1977), he took a job coaching elementary-age children at the Wallingford Swim Club; and the combination of Yale and swimming has persisted for nearly thirty years. Coaching during his post-graduate studies, George maintains, allowed him to feel connected to something other than school and helped him feel part of the real world. Upon finishing his graduate work, George taught in both New Haven and North Haven. Then in 1981 he was offered the position he holds to this day: Curator of the Yale Collection of Western Americana at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. His responsibilities include not only acquisition and supervision but also education; and, in his own words, "This is the only job I want for the rest of my life. It combines all of my interests." In addition to this primary responsibility, however, he has also taught courses at Yale, Columbia, and University of Virginia.
After coaching in Wallingford for five years and at the New Haven Swim Club for three, for twenty years George has been the head coach of the Branford Recreation Department Sting Rays Swim Team, working with youngsters as young as seven who can barely swim one lap. His natural teaching instincts as well as his coaching ability build in his swimmers skills and confidence that will last them the rest of their lives as he teaches them that much of what they learn as athletes can also be applied to family life, schoolwork, and other life situations. In addition to teaching current swimming techniques and building endurance, George teaches his young swimmers to believe in themselves and their teammates, while somehow avoiding the problem of "swimmer burnout." He discusses every race performance with each swimmer, transforming individual success and failure into a learning experience for the child. While demanding one hundred percent effort from his swimmers, he displays compassion for the individual and stresses that swimming is but one facet of the swimmer's life. When his young swimmers have finished their Sting Ray careers, they are confident young adults, ready for the rest of their lives-in large part due to the selfless efforts of George Miles. He takes great pride in the growth of the team over the past twenty years (now one of the largest in the state for its age group) and values its close ties with the Branford High School swim program.
He and his wife, Nancy, have three sons: George, a student at Yale, and Kevin and Gregory, both students at Branford High School.
Despite the demands of career, coaching, and family life, George finds time to be of service elsewhere. In the past, he has served on various committees at Yale, on the Branford-Guilford Pool Committee, and the Connecticut Swimming Board of Directors. He also taught religious education at St. Therese Church for five years working with junior-high and high-school students. He has authored or edited eight books and has also published numerous essays. He is justifiably proud of the continued importance of the Yale Collection of Western Americana and the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library and its place both in Yale's curriculum and in international scholarship.