Swimming
Favorite athlete: Missy Franklin
Favorite team: Phillies
Favorite memory competing in sports: Breaking the 200 freestyle relay’s NHS record at SOL’s in 2014 with my relay team consisting of Helen Shekhterman, Rebecca Rodriguez and Danielle Bizup. We ended up coming in second at SOL’s. It was a great moment in my life.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Last year during a dual meet, I was talking to a girl on the opposing team before my backstroke. She asked me about my backstroke time and was shocked about what my time was. Let’s just say that she gave me a little bit of an ego boost as she complimented me on my time. However, I ended up false starting during the race, and the other girl ended up winning. It was a very humbling moment for me.
Music on iPod: Mumford and Sons and Cage the Elephant
Future plans: Go to college (undecided) and major in marketing and minor in finance. I plan to swim in college.
Words to live by: “Being brave isn’t supposed to be easy.”
One goal before turning 30: Take pride in myself and what I do every day.
One thing people don’t know about me: I’m actually a huge music fan. Not only do I listen to a broad range of music, but I also play the piano and guitar (or at least I try to), and I used to play several instruments such as the saxophone, bass clarinet, baritone saxophone and the cello.
For Elizabeth Miller, swimming wasn’t love at first sight.
“My mom started me in swimming when I was younger and I actually used to hate it,” said Miller, a senior captain for Neshaminy. “I wouldn’t go in the water unless my dad or mom was there and I used to cry all the time.”
That changed when she started taking lessons at Neshaminy with former boys coach Dan Gallagher.
“Once I started taking the lessons I began to like it,” she said.
She joined CORE, the age group program at Neshaminy, and took off from there.
”Lizzy has been a member of our age group team since she was able to swim competitively,” Neshaminy coach Brian Suter said. “From the beginning, Lizzy has blazed her own path. Her independent personality has afforded her freedom to choose to excel in this sport.
“She has always been someone on her team who wants to be at practice and wants to compete. Beginning around the age of twelve, when others were asking their parents to go on vacation, she was begging her parents to attend summer overnight camp. She attended Penn State and Cornell, to name a few.
“Her passion for the sport drives her work ethic. She truly loves to swim and her competitive spirit keeps her searching for ways to improve.”
Older sister Abby also swam for the Redskins, graduating in 2011. She is finishing up her senior year as a member of the swim team at Lock Haven.
“There’s so much of an age gap that we were never competitive with each other, but I learned a lot from watching her,” Miller said. “I went to her high school meets and saw what was going on and I watched their practices. It looked like fun, but a little scary.
“They seemed really hard, like such a huge thing. There were so many people on the high school team and it seemed crazy. It looked like they were sprinting the entire practice. Once I got there, I realized it wasn’t so bad.”
As a younger swimmer, Miller was primarily a freestyler but evolved into other strokes.
As a middle school student she swam the butterfly but in high school hit her stride as a backstroker.
“I just sort of randomly swam it one meet at the end of my freshman year and it turned out I was pretty good about it,” she said.
Miller has some lofty goals as she heads down the home stretch of her final high school season.
“I’d like to make it to states in the backstroke,” she said. “I think I have to drop about two seconds and that would give me a good chance. That’s my idealistic goal for the season.
“I did a pretty good time at the Upper Dublin meet (Cardinal Classic) this year and that gives me some confidence. I usually get nervous at districts. Just the fact that it’s districts is nerve wracking, but I’ve been to districts before and that will help me.
“Every year I’ve gotten better at dealing with it so I know this year I need to relax and enjoy myself.”
She is unsure of what her second individual event will be at the district meet, but Miller is currently leaning toward the 200 freestyle or 100 butterfly. She is also hopeful that Neshaminy’s 400 freestyle relay will make a district appearance.
“We’re pretty close to consideration,” she said. “That would be great, to have a relay there.”
An honors student, Miller has not made a college choice yet, but is leaning toward West Chester or Shippensburg and is considering majoring in marketing with a minor in finance.
The Neshaminy senior, who plays several instruments, is actively involved in Athletes Helping Athletes. She volunteers her time to the Women’s Humane Society and helped organize and run a marathon that is the Humane Society’s major fundraiser.
Swimming will be part of Miller’s future.
“I know swimming in college is going to be hard, but it’s hard to imagine not having swimming in my life,” she said. “It’s a little scary and exciting at the same time to think about being on a different team with a different coach.”
Suter will miss having Miller on the team next year.
“Over these past four years, I have observed her grow in her ability to persevere through challenging practice and meet situations,” he said. “She has learned that failure is an important step on the road to success. As one example, while her goal last year was to break the team record in backstroke, when she did not achieve it, she returned to practice and worked to get it in December.
“As a member of CORE she has made the transition from a member of the team who looked up to our senior swimmers to a role model and leader of our CORE Program.
“Last Saturday, at one of her final meets with the team, she broke two meet records. Her impression on our youth at Neshaminy to work hard, swim fast and smile will live on long after she graduates.
“I believe she is poised to finish writing an outstanding end to this chapter of her high school swimming career this February. I know she is well prepared to excel in college. I know she will once again seize the moment that she is working so hard to be a part of.”
