Bill Miller took Campbell HIgh School soccer to a new level, and hopes to do the same as he returns to NHTI. (Telegraph file photo by TOM KING)

Here are a few tids and bits to enjoy over the final holiday weekend of the summer. The season’s last hurrah, if you will:

First, we’re going to miss Bill Miller as the Campbell High School boys soccer coach, and the players probably will, too, but will also embrace new coach Brian Henderson.

But Miller was always colorful, taught the players well, won back-to-back Division III state titles (2018-19) and now takes his talents to New Hampshire Technical Institute (NHTI) where for that level of college soccer he will turn out some very good players as well.

It’s a return to his long-term roots, as he was the head soccer coach and athletic director at NHTI from 1984-97. But Campbell owes a huge debt to Miller, who, when the team was desperately trying to find a coach a few years ago, took over the program with his sons and made a good team that much better, bringing it to the next level.

• Not to get political, but while we hem and haw and rant and bicker foolishly over masks, it was a good move by Nashua Athletic Director Lisa Gingras to lobby the Board of Education to allow the indoor athletes this fall to go without masks when actively engaged. Makes sense, especially when she talked about cheer teams practicing at Elm Street School without air conditioning in some of the recent heat.

Tom King

What didn’t make sense was the ridiculous grandstanding by board members during the “discussion”, a direct result, we feel, of them now being back in front of a live audience in a meeting room rather than completely virtual. In fact, there was hardly any discussion on the specific topic – just blustering. Doesn’t give one confidence going forward if there’s a major athletic issue down the road. Yikes.

• Those attending high school games this fall, keep this in mind: You hear thunder, count on a stoppage and delay. There were always lightning delays, but now, judging from what happened to halt the Souhegan-Hollis Brookline and Nashua South-Salem field hockey games earlier this past week, you hear the noise, that’s it, with the delay clock restarting with each boom.

• What do you think of the NFL’s three-game preseason setup? It makes a lot of sense, but you can tell the emphasis on joint practices is what the coaches are really looking at. Heck, it’s probably more where Mac Jones won the Patriots starting QB job, than anything he did against backups in preseason games.

• You want to know where former Nashua South quarterback Sean Holland is spending the first part of this current weekend? Try Lincoln, Neb. Holland is a backup QB for Fordham University and yes, the Rams are traveling to face the University of Nebraska in what will be, for Holland and many of his teammates, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

They’ll likely never play in front of a crowd as big as 80,000 again, this game in the famous Sea of Red, Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium.

And yes, Holland’s parents, Nashua athletic trainer extraordinaires Gerry and Michelle Holland, were set to make the trip.

It’s likely Holland will see some playing time, as, let’s face it, Nebraska, in a down cycle, may not be a Top 25 team right now, but Fordham is nowhere near in the same class. Thus, a wide margin on the scoreboard should lead to a lot of reserves playing later in the game on both sides.

Holland and his dad are no strangers to big-time college football. They used to take in a University of Texas game or two years ago. But this time, instead of being part of a big crowd, Sean Holland will possibly be playing in front of one.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.

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