In middle school, Mia Miller was often asked what sport she would compete in once she got to school. Green Bay Notre Dame.
She was a tennis player and long-distance runner at the time.
Both activities take place in the fall and everyone suggested she couldn’t do both. She should choose one.
“I was like, ‘I don’t think so,’” Miller said. “I don’t think I ever really thought about it. Really not.
A three-sport athlete in high school is no longer as common as it was several decades ago. It is more likely that a student will choose one in which to specialize.
It would never have been Miller, who could simply be considered a unicorn.
She is participating in three sports this fall – yes, three – with swimming on the schedule, cross country and tennis. Miller pointed out that swimming “barely counts” because she doesn’t have much time to do it, even though she competed last weekend.
She plays four sports in total and competes in track and field in the spring.
“I think my parents really pushed that,” Miller said. “I think it’s really different from everyone else right now, because I think people are really focused on specializing in one sport. I’m so glad I didn’t. There were definitely times when I considered quitting tennis because I loved the cross country team, but I didn’t really want to do it because I love the sport of tennis.
“If you’re good at multiple things, why wouldn’t you want to do that? These are two different philosophies. You can be really good at something, but at the end of the day, sport is so much more than the sport itself. I never would have considered, even though tennis is my main sport, giving up the cross country culture and coaches.
Green Bay Notre Dame’s Mia Miller prepares for a busy weekend
It’s a big week for the Miller household. She and her younger sister, Anna, both participate in cross country and tennis. The Notre Dame tennis team is coached by their father, Paul. One of the assistant coaches is their mother, Carrie.
Mia Miller is the Tritons’ second singles player. His sister is number 3.
Notre Dame will face Neenah Friday in the WIAA Division 1 team quarterfinals at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison. The winner advances to a semi-final on Saturday.
The Notre Dame cross country team will compete in sectionals Saturday in Manitowoc.
This is potentially a big deal, but it’s still a problem if the tennis team beats Neenah and tennis and cross country compete on the same day.
How will this turn out for Miller and his sister?
She broke the whole plan.
“I’m an alternate for the section (cross country team),” Miller said. “So Friday is the first day we have the status of the tennis team. If we lose, which we won’t, but if we lose, I’ll go to Manitowoc and watch the sectionals there. But if we win, which we will, the second day will be when the second round (of tennis) will be played.
“So I would miss (cross country Saturday), and since I’m a substitute, that’s OK. But for Anna, she is by far the No. 1 runner, that’s not OK. So she’s leaving the state (tennis) after Friday. We absolutely need her to win anything, so she’ll be there on Friday. As a team, we set goals for ourselves at the start of our season, and our main goal was to win a round as a team. Having him there on Friday is super important.
Got it? GOOD.
Miller is used to dealing with chaos by now, even more so as a senior.
Cross country and tennis practices ran concurrently with his first three years of high school. At the start of each week, she talked with the coaches about the practices she planned to attend. Every day, no matter the sport, she was home by 6 p.m.
This year, training takes place at different times. It gave Miller an opportunity she never had before, but it also made the days longer.
She runs cross country after school until about 5:30 p.m. Miller then returns home to have dinner with her family before tennis practice from 8 to 9:30 p.m.
Miller finds enough time for her studies, considering she has a 3.94 grade point average. She takes advantage of a few free periods during the day to accomplish most of her work. The rest is done after tennis practice when she sometimes heads to the St. Norbert College library for a late-night study session.
There’s something about constant work that Miller loves. She also doesn’t feel guilty like she did when she was forced to skip one of her workouts.
“Every day I get to go to both, which is pretty awesome,” Miller said. “It’s been different than most years, and I think I’ve come to enjoy it.”
Tennis is Mia Miller’s first love
Miller enjoyed everything cross country at Notre Dame and had the opportunity to appear at the state meet.
But tennis is the sport she wants to play wherever she goes to college next year.
This shouldn’t come as a big surprise. Gaming is in its DNA.
Paul played tennis at Marquette University from 1994 to 1998. Carrie played at St. Norbert. They coached together for more than a decade at SNC.
Miller started playing tennis with her father when she was 4 years old. Gaming has been a constant for her.
The running bug eventually hit the Millers, even though Carrie and Paul were still on the tennis courts in high school and college.
Miller remembers his mother randomly deciding to participate in a marathon. She trained for it and fell in love. Running has become the new family pastime.
Team Miller might even be better known for running than tennis now. Paul and Carrie started On the pace run in 2017, which helps to set the pace for races across the country.
Carrie recently completed her 100th marathon.
“I guess my mom wanted to run a marathon, and then she went crazy with it,” Miller said. “Then I gave it to my father.”
Miller paused for a second.
“She’s still better than my dad,” she said, laughing.
Miller eventually started running and his distances continued to increase. She ran her first half marathon at age 11 and a marathon a year later.
Once she started, she didn’t want to stop. Tennis and running had to find a way to coexist.
“Mia is small in stature but has a giant heart,” said longtime Notre Dame cross country coach John Gard. “Mia was a tremendous runner, but more importantly, she had a profound impact on the culture of our program. She understands the value of friendship and genuinely cares about others. Our program is a lot better because Mia Miller is a part of it.”
Mia Miller’s latest tennis prep campaign is special
Miller is a good runner, but she is arguably an even better tennis player.
She qualified for the state tennis individual competition this season and won a match at the event last weekend, beating Jordin Popp of Manitowoc 6-1, 6-4 in the first round.
Miller helped Notre Dame reach state for the second time in her career and first since she was a sophomore. She enters the tournament 25-5.
All of these successes have been rewarding, but even more so because she has the opportunity to do it alongside her family.
Win or lose this weekend, it was quite an adventure.
“It’s been the best,” Miller said. “I loved it so much. Not only because I think they offer an exceptional program, but also my relationship with my parents and my sister has improved a lot thanks to their coaching. This is usually the time I see them the least because I’m not home much.
“This year there is an hour and a half dedicated to me with them every evening. It was great.
This article originally appeared in the Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay Notre Dame’s Mia Miller competes in three fall sports
