Softball
Favorite athlete: Novak Djokovic
Favorite team: Florida Gators Softball
Favorite memory competing in sports: Beating undefeated Upper Merion the last game of our season my junior year. Whenever we play them, it’s always a lot of fun.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Getting my foot stuck in the backstop while catching my freshman year and needing the umpire to help pull me out.
Music on iPod: I like everything like Drake, John Mayer, Chance the Rapper, Chet Faker, Passion Pit, Twenty One Pilots, X Ambassadors
Future plans: Attend the University of Delaware and study a major I am passionate about.
Words to live by: “The question isn’t who is going to let me, it’s who is going to stop me.” –Ayn Rand
One goal before turning 30: Spend time volunteering in Third World countries and travel the world doing so.
One thing people don’t know about me: I know how to play the ukulele and drums.
By Mary Jane Souder
Allison Miller can find the positive in just about any situation.
Coach Scott Ludlow laughs when he recalls a recent conversation with his softball team during the District One AAA Tournament.
“Before our game on Friday (of Memorial Day weekend), we talked about the potential of rain and having to play Saturday if we got rained out on Friday,” the Golden Bears’ coach said. “A lot of the girls were – my family is going here, my family is going there, and Allie’s like, ‘I have a lot of room in my house. You can all stay with me if you want.’
“That’s her whole approach on things. She’s just a real positive kid. She’s one of those kids – you never see her in a bad mood. She’s just that positive role model for everybody.”
Miller was a four-year starter for the varsity softball team, anchoring the infield at third base.
“She hadn’t played a whole lot of third base,” Ludlow said. “She was a catcher when she came in, but I needed a third baseman.
“I brought her up at the start of her freshman year, and she has turned herself into a tremendous third baseman just through her work ethic.”
To say it was a perfect fit would be an understatement – last year, Miller earned first team all-league and second team all-state honors at third base.
“She’s the cornerstone of our defense,” Ludlow said. “And absolutely is a huge part of our lineup as far as runs batted in, extra base hits. She’s a great base runner.
“She’s one of those kids – she see things in a game. She’s very intuitive at third base and verbalized that to everybody else.”
While Miller brings her obvious talents to the softball diamond, that’s not what sets her apart. Rather, it’s her positive approach that Ludlow keeps going back to when he talks about his senior captain.
“She’s just one of those kids that’s always energetic, always out there for the team,” Ludlow said. “On the sidelines, she is always positive, she’s always trying to pick kids up, she never gets down on herself or anybody else.
“She leads by example on and off the field the way she practices, the way she plays. She stepped onto the team four years ago and had that attitude that she was always positive, always looking forward, always wanting to get better. She took the good with the bad – learned from mistakes, never got down on herself.”
*****
Miller has been competing in sports since she was four years old, getting her start with soccer and t-ball.
“My whole neighborhood were older boys so I pretty much was outside playing whatever they wanted to play, just trying to get involved,” she said. “My dad also was definitely a big part of it.
“He played baseball, soccer, football, every sport, so he definitely knew the importance of being competitive and kind of led me into it.”
Travel soccer gave Miller her first taste of sports at the highly competitive level.
“I played year round, did a lot of travel, played every weekend, and I kind of wanted to try something else, so I started playing travel basketball in middle school,” said Miller, who also played tennis.
In eighth grade, travel softball entered the picture, and Miller was hooked. Ask the senior captain what she will remember most about her playing days, and she points to the friends she’s made along the way.
“Everywhere I go I know someone from a sport I’ve played,” Miller said. “I think I’ll remember my teammates the most.”
Friday’s district quarterfinal loss to Bishop Shanahan marked the end of her four-year varsity career.
“I didn’t cry because we lost, I cried because that’s when I realized it was my last high school sport and one of the last competitive games I’ll ever play,” said Miller.
She walks away with no regrets and takes pride in the strides the program has taken – finishing second in the SOL American Conference this spring and third the two preceding years after a seventh place finish when Miller was a freshman.
“Every year from freshman year I always had a great group of girls above me that have really led me as a player and as a person, so I knew I needed to step up as a leader,” she said. “I knew it was my time to do it.
“I’ve always tried to be a leader on the team even if it wasn’t really a spoken thing. It was definitely cool this year being able to lead the group with the other seniors by my side.”
Miller will not be continuing her softball career at the collegiate level, although she admits she gave it some consideration.
“Actually, I was really into it my sophomore and junior years, and I got a few bites from D2 and D3 schools that I would have been interested in,” she said. “When it came down to it, I wanted a big school feeling, and I wanted to be part of something fairly large.
“I don’t think I could have gone to a D1 school (for softball). It was really my education and where I could see myself in the future.”
The University of Delaware felt like the perfect fit. Miller also was accepted at Syracuse, Pitt, Vermont, Temple and Drexel.
“I visited the University of Delaware one last time and just realized that was where I wanted to be,” she said. “I think it was just the whole atmosphere of Delaware.
“It wasn’t too far away from home. It was a great college town. They have a lot of great programs.”
As for her major, the UM senior admits she can’t decide.
“I honestly would say that it’s not that I don’t know what I want to do,” she said. “It’s just that I want to do too many things.
“I’ve juggled with marketing, political science, communications, education, hospitality. I can’t narrow what I don’t want to do.”
An excellent student, Miller, who has taken several AP classes, is a member of National Honor Society and boasts a grade point average of 94-95 on a scale of 100.
“Being an athlete has also made me competitive with school,” Miller said.
She is involved in the school’s Key Club, Spanish Club, Ski Club and the student council. During the summer, she teaches tennis to youngsters at Manufacturers’ Country Club.
Miller has not ruled out playing softball at the club level next year and admits she cannot imagine her high school experience without sports.
“I just don’t understand that side of things because sports has always been a major thing,” she said. “I think going home at 2:15 every day sounds insane to me.
“Just being with my teammates and being able to compete, and even the little things – throwing a ball around after school or texting a teammate to see if they want to eat dinner or something like that – I couldn’t take that away.”
For Ludlow, it’s players like Miller that make coaching enjoyable.
“I’ve had a handful of girls that have come through in the last few years like that, but she’s clearly one of the best kids I’ve coached in the many years I’ve been doing it,” the Golden Bears’ coach said. “It’s kids like her that keep me coming back every year. It really is.”
