Marty Gordon
Auburn High School has a new boys’ basketball coach. Earlier this week, the school announced the promotion of assistant coach Mike Royal to replace Terry Millirons, who retired this past spring.
Royal said he is grateful for this to opportunity to mentor the student-athletes that will be a part of the Auburn Eagles basketball program now and in the future.
“For 17 years, I have been a part of the Auburn basketball program [boys and girls], preparing athletes for varsity competition,” he said in a social media post on the announcement.
“I can’t wait to get started and keep this program operating at the level it has risen to over the last few years. I look forward to the support of our community and students as we strive to gain another state championship.”
Royal was assistant coach for varsity girls for the first four years of his time coaching and for the past 12 years, he was head coach of the junior varsity boys’ team. Last year, he served as an assistant at the varsity level.
Royal said he applied for the position for two reasons.
“Number one, I love the game and have been involved with the basketball program here for a long time, not only with the high school programs but also with AAU teams that were formed when some of the upcoming seniors were in third grade,” he said. “Number two, the kids themselves. In my 17 years I cannot think of a time I did not enjoy coaching any of the teams I was a part of, jayvee or varsity. All of the kids were great and that is a testament to the parents and the community.”
Millirons stepped down after 13 years as the program’s head coach, leading the team to another state championship game this past year and was 195-125 in 13 seasons in charge of the boy’s program. He captured seven Mt. Empire District regular season and tournament titles, four Region C championships including the last three in a row, and two state titles in 2020 and 2022.
Royal knows he has some big shoes to fill with high expectations to continue the Eagles’ success.
“Terry Millirons set a standard for Auburn basketball that should be and will be the level we strive to obtain,” he said. “My goal for our teams to compete in every game from tip to final horn at an elite level. Win or lose, everyone will know that we played 100%, no less.”
Royal has some lofty goals and expectations.
“Our district is one of the toughest in the western Virginia. As I said before, expectations are high and that means championships, district, region and state.”
“How we come together as a team and compete day-in and day-out will determine our success. This goes for all levels of the program.”
Royal hopes to become more involved in the recreation program so they begin to cultivate basketball players at a young age and teach them the fundamentals that will make them successful and enjoy the game and team environment.
“This means helping these rec coaches, who generously volunteer their time and talents, learning what we do and how it made us successful,” he concluded.
Already, Royal is busy with the team, taking them to summer camp this past week at UVA-Wise.
