Mia Miller often was asked in middle school which sport she would compete in once she arrived at Green Bay Notre Dame.
She was a tennis player and cross-country runner at the time.
Both activities are in the fall, and everyone suggested she couldn’t do both. She’d have to pick one.
“I was like, ‘I don’t think I do,’” Miller said. “I don’t think I ever really considered it. I really don’t.”
A three-sport athlete in high school is not quite as common as it was decades ago. It’s more likely a student will pick one to specialize in.
That never was going to be Miller, who might just be considered a unicorn.
She competes in three sports during the fall — yes, three — with swimming on the slate along with cross-country and tennis. Miller pointed out swimming “barely counts” because there isn’t much time to do it, although she did compete at a meet last weekend.
She is a four-sport athlete in all, competing in track and field in the spring.
“I think my parents really pushed that,” Miller said. “I think that’s really become different than everybody else right now, because I think people do really focus on specializing in one sport. I’m so glad I didn’t. There were definitely times I considered quitting tennis because I loved the cross-country team, but I didn’t really want to do that because I love the sport of tennis.
“If you are good at multiple things, why would you not want to? It’s two different philosophies. You could be really good at one thing, but also at the end of the day, the sports have been more than just the sport itself. I would never, even though tennis is my main sport, I would never have considered giving up the culture of cross-country and the coaches.”
Green Bay Notre Dame’s Mia Miller gearing up for busy weekend
This is a big week in the Miller household. She and her younger sister, Anna, both are 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 No. 2 singles player for the Tritons. Her sister is No. 3.
Notre Dame will face Neenah on Friday in a WIAA Division 1 team state quarterfinal at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison. The winner advances to a semifinal Saturday.
The Notre Dame cross-country team will compete in sectionals Saturday in Manitowoc.
It’s potentially a great problem to have, but still a problem if the tennis team beats Neenah and both tennis and cross-country are competing on the same day.
How is this going to work out for Miller and her sister?
She broke down the whole plan.
“I’m an alternate for the sectional (cross-country team),” Miller said. “So, Friday is the first day we have tennis team state. If we lose, which we are not going to, but if we do, I’m driving up to Manitowoc and going to sectionals there. But if we win, which we will, the second day is when the second round (of tennis) is played.
“So, I would miss (cross-country on Saturday), and because I’m an alternate, it’s OK. But for Anna, she is the No. 1 runner by a lot, not OK. So, she is leaving state (tennis) after Friday. We definitely need her to win anything, so she is going to be there for Friday. As a team, we made goals in the beginning of our season, and our main reach goal was to win a round at team state. Having her there on Friday is super important.”
Got it? Good.
Miller is used to dealing with chaos by now, even more as a senior.
Practice for cross-country and tennis took place at the same time her first three years of high school. She discussed with coaches at the beginning of each week which practices she planned to attend. Every day, regardless of which sport, she was home by 6 p.m.
Practices this year are at different times. It has given Miller an opportunity she’s never had before, but it’s also made the days a lot longer.
She goes to cross-country after school until about 5:30 p.m. Miller goes home afterward for dinner with her family before tennis practice from 8 to 9:30 p.m.
Miller finds enough time for academics, considering she has a 3.94 grade-point average. She uses a couple of free periods during the day to get most of her work done. The rest is completed after tennis practice when she sometimes goes to the St. Norbert College library for a late-night study session.
There is something about the constant grind that Miller loves. She also doesn’t have guilt the way she did when she was forced to skip one of her practices.
“Every day I get to go to both, which is pretty great,” Miller said. “That has been different than most years, and I think I’ve come to appreciate that.”
Tennis is Mia Miller’s first love
Miller has enjoyed everything about cross-country at Notre Dame and has gotten the opportunity to run at the state meet.
But tennis is the sport she wants to play wherever she goes to college next year.
It shouldn’t be much of a surprise. The game is in her 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. The game has been a constant for her.
The running bug eventually hit the Millers, even though Carrie and Paul always were on tennis courts in high school and college.
Miller remembers her mother randomly deciding to enter a marathon. She trained for it and fell in love. Running turned into the new family hobby.
The Miller crew might even be more known for running than tennis now. Paul and Carrie started On Pace Race in 2017, which helps pace races around the country.
Carrie recently completed her 100th marathon.
“I guess my mom wanted to run a marathon, and then she just kind of went crazy with it,” Miller said. “Then gave it to my dad.”
Miller paused for a second.
“She’s still better than my dad,” she said, laughing.
Miller eventually picked up running, and her distances kept increasing. She ran her first half marathon when she was 11 and a marathon a year later.
Once she started, she didn’t want to stop. Tennis and running had to figure out a way to coexist.
“Mia is small in stature but has a giant heart,” longtime Notre Dame cross-country coach John Gard said. “Mia has been a terrific runner, but more importantly, has impacted our program’s culture deeply. She understands the value of friendship and genuinely caring about others. Our program is much better because Mia Miller has been part of it.”
Mia Miller’s final prep tennis campaign a special one
Miller is a good runner, but she’s arguably an even better tennis player.
She qualified for the individual state tennis meet this season and won a match at the event last weekend, beating Manitowoc’s Jordin Popp 6-1, 6-4 in the opening round.
Miller helped Notre Dame reach team state for the second time in her career and the first since she was a sophomore. She enters the tournament 25-5.
All the success has been rewarding, but even more so considering she is getting the opportunity to do it alongside her family.
Win or lose this weekend, it’s been a heck of a ride.
“It has been the best,” Miller said. “I have loved it so much. Not only because I think they run an exceptional program, but also my relationship with my parents and sister have gotten so much better from their coaching. This is usually the time I see them the least because I’m not home that much.
“This year, there is a dedicated hour and a half I’m with them every night. It’s been awesome.”
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay Notre Dame’s Mia Miller participates in three fall sports
