Athlete of the week: Bradley Miller is a special teams maestro for the Cougars
Published 8:30 am Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Bradley Miller is a special team’s ace for Lafayette Christian’s football team. The junior came out of nowhere to help elevate the Cougars’ special teams to new heights this season.
Miller did not come out for the football team until nearly halfway through the season at the behest of coach Jarred Pike, who knew the special teams department needed a face lift.
“Every time he saw me in the halls he would keep telling me that they needed a kicker,” Miller said. “He finally convinced me to join and it has been a lot of fun.”
Miller is enjoying it so much that he plans to come out and play the entirety of his senior season.
It took almost no time for Miller, an avid soccer player, to get adjusted to the gridiron. Although he played one year in middle school as a quarterback, this was an all new ball game for the junior kicker.
“It was kind of weird in middle school because we had two quarterbacks, one that could run and one that could throw and I was the throwing quarterback,” Miller said. “
Miller played in his first game on Homecoming night against Pinecrest. He handled kickoff, punting and PAT duties and has been every game since.
“I’ve been playing soccer for like eight years now, so I think that has really helped me with kicking the ball because a lot of guys just don’t have that experience kicking a ball,” he said. “I was pretty nervous that first game, but I got used to the pressure.”
It would not take long for Miller to find his groove. He has come through with some crucial kicks this season, but none more important than his extra point in double overtime against Young Americans Christian that gave the Cougars a 43-42 win and a region championship.
“I felt pretty good about it. I mean, it was tied, so it wasn’t too bad of pressure, but we might come down to some point this season in the playoffs, where I might have to kick one from behind and that will be completely different than with the game being tied,” Miller said.
For about a decade now, Miller has been playing soccer. Little did he know that the years of kicking a round ball into the back of the net would eventually help him kick an egg shaped ball through a pair of uprights.
On the soccer field, Miller is not just hoofing the ball up field. The junior is one of Lafayette Christian soccer’s most gifted and technical players. Last season as a sophomore he took on free kick taking duties in a team chalk full of skilled upperclassmen.
“My ninth and 10th grade year I became more comfortable and I eventually became the guy who takes free kicks for the team,” Miller said, flashing a grin. “I’ve scored a few.”
“I played up to my eighth grade year and I was pretty nervous going up against some kids that were 17 and 18 years old,” Miller added with a chuckle.
While Miller is a kicker savant for the Cougars, he has also been utilized elsewhere on the gridiron. Injuries have left Lafayette Christian shorthanded and Miller could receive some playing time at cornerback in the playoffs, a position he has only played a handful of snaps at during the regular season.
“It’s been pretty good. I’m actually excited to play corner back,” Miller said. “I got to play some running back this season when one of our starters got injured and I was able to score a touchdown.”
As a life-long Cougar, Lafayette Christian has been home for as long as Miller can remember. He’s played on the basketball, soccer and now football teams in his time at the school, but as he heads into the back half of his junior year, he plans to focus on soccer and football for his remaining days as a Cougar.
