Most people have never heard of Coach Miller Bugliari, but the legendary American boys’ high school soccer coach is still at it—coaching his 63rd consecutive season, at age 87. The accumulated numbers are absurd. Bugliari possesses a lifetime coaching record that looks like an international telephone number: 916 wins, 130 losses, 82 ties. The list of titles includes 21 state championships. There is so much hardware and memorabilia piled into Bugliari’s office it can be difficult to locate the Hall of Fame coach behind his desk.
People around him note that humility is one of the keys to his success. In a recent interview he quietly told a reporter, “I take a little pride [in all those victories], but I try to ignore it.” Later in the same interview he said, “I think everyone is blessed with something they like to do. I just enjoy it. I’ve always enjoyed working—and the kids keep you young.” One of this year’s (2022) team captains described Coach Bugliari this way: “I think people would be surprised at how humble he is.”
For Bugliari it isn’t about the championships. Talk to a Pingry graduate about Bugliari, and you’ll get an earful about their former coach’s intellectual curiosity, his patience, the way he shaped young men into parents, leaders, and coaches themselves.
