“I wasn’t sure I was going to come here,” Miller said. “I thought I was going to go to Europe and travel and train there.”

European coaching offers a different type of technique and style that isn’t seen much in the U.S.

But MSU head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof, a native of Tilburg, Netherlands, convinced Miller to stay stateside and get European coaching in East Lansing.

Miller, who played for van de Kerkhof during a trip to the Netherlands with U.S. Field Hockey, was hooked.

“I really enjoyed his coaching style,” Miller said. “Once I came here and visited here and saw the facilities, I knew this was one of my top choices.”

After graduating, Miller started playing with the Spartans in the spring and immediately noticed the difference between high school and college play.

“The pace of the game is a lot quicker,” Miller said. “Playing (spring ball) and seeing it just prepared me. I knew I had to work a lot on my conditioning, my speed, this summer.”

She also had to work to get on the front line. For most of the spring games, Miller was playing defense, something she wasn’t used to from high school.

“That was a little adjustment, too,” Miller said. “I like to score. So this summer I said I’m going to do whatever it takes to get on the forward line. So I worked a lot this summer.”

And the work seems to be paying off.

Miller, who has 11 goals, nine assists and 31 points this season, is on track to win the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award and leads all Big Ten freshmen in goals, assists and points. The next closest freshman, Penn State’s Jessica Longstreth, has six goals, three assists and 15 points this season. Nationally, Miller ranks fourth in goals and points and second in assists among freshmen.

“I expected a lot for her,” van de Kerkhof said. “It’s always hard to say what your expectations are for freshmen because usually, it all depends how they develop, if they get in a groove.”

Sophomore forward Jantine Steinmetz, the 2007 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, said after the spring the team expected big things from Miller.

“She was great, we were all getting along right away, she worked hard,” Steinmetz said. “It’s good for her, I think, that during the spring she got to get into things. She’s a great player. I love playing with her.”

Miller’s mind-set is what makes her a difference-maker, van de Kerkhof said.

“She just plays to play,” van de Kerkhof said. “She doesn’t worry too much about, ‘Oh we play Michigan,’ or, ‘Oh it’s Wake Forest,’ she just wants to go out there and kick some butt. She keeps things simple; I like that.”