Ontario Soccer stalwart Gary Miller passes away at 63 of a heart attack

TORONTO — Gary Miller, director of soccer operations for Ontario Soccer and a member of Canada Soccer’s technical committee, has died at the age of 63.

An Ontario Soccer spokesman said Miller died Wednesday of a heart attack.

“Gary leaves behind a tremendous legacy on the sport of soccer in Canada, holding multiple tenures at Ontario Soccer, Canada Soccer and a number of other influential organizations over his illustrious career,” Ontario Soccer said in a statement.

“Gary is a close friend to many in the soccer community.”

Canada Soccer vice-president Nick Bontis called Miller “a true leader in our community.”

Miller was an Ontario Soccer stalwart, serving as schools program co-ordinator (1983-1985), technical director (1985-1990), director of high performance (1992-1994) and took over as director of soccer operations in 2015.

He served as high performance director at the Canadian Soccer Association from 1990-1992. Holder of a Canada Soccer Coaching A Licence, he served as an assistant coach with Canada at the FIFA U-16 World Tournament in 1989 in Scotland.

Miller was also director of soccer operations at the American Scholarship Assistance Program (1994-1997) and ran the Bryst Academy (1997-2015).

As a soccer player, he was a CIAU second all-Canadian team defender at Western Ontario in 1979. Miller was inducted to the Western Mustangs Hall of Fame in 2004.

He is survived by wife Cindy, daughters Stephanie, Briana and son Ryan.

 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2020.

The Canadian Press