In her first year on the job, Marci Miller has NIU off to a 4-5-2 start. The Northern Star sat down for five minutes and discovered a deeply spiritual person who has a sweet tooth, a palate for coffee and seven siblings (Maggie, Mini, Mary, Monica, Mike, Mark, Marty) who all share the initials ‘M.M.’

Northern Star: If you aren’t coaching soccer, what are you doing?

Marci Miller: Playing soccer! [Laughs] Not soccer related – I’d probably be drinking coffee and hanging out with my husband. If I wasn’t a soccer player I’d probably be having kids and starting a family.

NS: What do you do on a road trip?

MM: [Husband and assistant coach] Paul and I usually are doing soccer-related work. The girls will watch videos and play cards. They like to play euchre. We have study time and just kind of hang out. When I was on a college road trip, I read and studied a lot.

NS: What is the best book you’ve read recently?

MM: I’m a huge reader. I’m into C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” He’s a Christian writer. I like Oswald Chambers too. I get into the spirituality of their books since that is such a huge part of my life.

NS: Other than soccer, what is your favorite sporting event?

MM: I don’t like watching sports, believe it or not. I do like watching hockey though. I think it is fun; it’s kind of like soccer on ice. I like watching sports when I know the people playing them. I’ll watch a football game if it has people that I know playing.

NS: For dinner, is it dine in, carry out or cook at home?

MM: We cook at home six days a week and have a date night once a week. We both cook, but Paul is a much better cook than I am. We don’t want our cooking to take more than 45 minutes. We cook lots of steak and chicken. We eat pretty healthy but that one night a week – anything goes.

NS: What is working with your husband like?

MM: Paul and I are so on the same page. I wouldn’t consider myself his boss. We have different roles. Paul is really awesome at the sports administration part, like sports management, recruiting and budget. Everyday operations is 80 percent of the job and he’s great at it. Coaching, we are very much on the same page, every decision made is our decision. In regards to players and formations, we think alike a lot. It is great to work with him, I couldn’t do it with anyone else. We put in a ton of hours together and it’s cool.

NS: If you could meet anyone living or dead, who would it be?

MM: Jesus Christ. And C.S. Lewis, too. Christ because my spiritual beliefs are a huge part of who I am; the foundation of what I believe.

NS: In training, do you eat like a machine and eat chicken and rice and drink tons of water and eat no salt?

MM: No, no, no (laughs). People around the office crack up at what I eat. In sports info, they have cookies and snacks, and people catch me walking out of there with a handful of candy bars all the time. I definitely have a sweet tooth, but in training I try to eat smaller pieces of chocolate, instead of a whole bunch. I wouldn’t say I eat just chicken and rice; I just try to watch the sugars and fats I eat. I don’t over-analyze it that much. To a certain extent, soccer players can eat what they want because they burn it off. You just need to refill with carbs and proteins. I’d say an occasional ice cream bar is OK!

NS: What is your favorite TV show?

MM: Paul and I are addicted to “Six Feet Under.” We are going to Blockbuster and renting the DVDs. We’ll be depressed when we finally get to the end because we are totally into the series.

NS: What music do you listen to?

MM: I like a lot of things. The girls gave us a mix CD and didn’t think we’d listen to it cause it’s got some rap and crazy stuff on it, then we pulled up to practice with the CD on. Bebo Norman is one of my favorites right now.

NS: Does NIU feel like home yet?

MM: It’s starting to be home. Paul and I have tried to make this our home and get into the community and in spring we’ll get to do more of that. My family is 30 minutes away, so we get to visit and have dinners.

NS: What’s the most important thing you bring to the U.S. National camp?

MM: My heading game. That’s why I’m going; that’s why I was invited. I’m not overly technical on the ground, I’m average skill level but heading is my biggest strength. Australia has big players and is good in the air, but I don’t know if I’ll make the roster. We’ll see.

NS: Toughest soccer moment?

MM: I was humiliated and embarrassed when I was a pro in Atlanta. I caused a penalty kick in a semifinal game that cost us the game. The championship was in Atlanta that year. I made a bad slide tackle, and they got a shot right in front of the goal and scored.