Paul Miranda is kind of a big deal. Just don’t tell him that.

The 1986 graduate of Butte Central has a Ph. D in chemistry from the University of Montana. He also has a master’s degree in metallurgical engineering and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Montana Tech.

Not bad for a kid who grew up on La Platte Street on the Butte hill.

But don’t call him “doctor.” Just call him Paul. Those boys from La Platte Street have no pretenses.

Paul works for Northwestern Energy, and he owns his own business, Eagle Engineering, which he calls a hobby.

As of this spring, Paul is also the new coach of the Butte High tennis program. He is using a bit of a Ted Lasso approach as he looks to build something special for the Bulldogs.

And Paul knows what it is like to be something special on the tennis court. He helped start the Butte Central tennis program when he was in school, and played at the state tournament for the Maroons. After high school, Paul won more tennis titles than he can even remember.

Thanks to some health issues, Paul no longer plays tennis, but he can still coach it. Likewise, he no longer referees basketball. But after his 20-plus years working high school and Frontier Conference games, he is as good of coach for new officials as you will find.

Earlie today, I met with Paul inside the vault at the Metals Sports Bar & Grill for a fun conversation. Listen in as he talks about his plans for the Bulldog team that played its first matches last Friday.

Listen as he talks about growing up on the hill and his years at Butte Central, where he was the very tiny manager of the 1984 Class A State champion boys’ basketball team. Listen as he talks about the burning feeling he gets when he puts on his Butte High Bulldogs hat.