School: Central Bucks South
Basketball
Favorite athlete: “My older brother, Storm. He’s a quarterback at Kutztown.”
Favorite team: ”Haverford women’s basketball (for obvious reasons) and the Phillies because they won the World Series.”
Favorite memory competing in sports: “When I was seven playing intramurals on the pink team on the eight-foot nets, I made a shot from beyond the foul line, which was huge at that age because the only shots ever taken were directly from under the rim. I probably had no idea what I was doing, and I probably just threw it up there, but somehow it went in, and everyone went nuts!”
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: “In eighth grade, we were playing a sister school, so I knew kids in the stands, and I was so nervous playing in front of them because I wanted to look really cool. I tripped literally from one foul line to the other; I couldn’t get my footing, I looked so awkward. I was mortified.”
Music on iPod: Taylor Swift, Lil’ Wayne, Britney Spears, OAR, Kanye West, Backstreet Boys 3
Future plans: “Go to Haverford, play some basketball and have fun.”
Words to live by: “Laugh it off.”
One goal before turning 30: “Start some sort of charity/fund/scholarship.”
One thing people don’t know about me: “I guess my name is kind of unique in its spelling. I find a lot of people get really worked up if my name is mispronounced, but I honestly don’t even notice anymore. It doesn’t faze me at all, but it tends to really bother those who know me.”
Calla Miller is a case study for the value of hard work.
The Central Bucks South senior knew she needed to add a consistent outside shot to her repertoire, so she spent the entire off-season last year working to improve that aspect of her game.
“Primarily, I have always been a driver,” Miller said. “But I think it’s important, especially as a guard going on to the college level - you need to be able to have range and be more consistent.
“I tended to drive, and my shooting game was weaker.”
That’s no longer the case.
“She’s a legitimate three-point threat, and she can drive as well,” South coach Beth Mattern said. “On the court, she was our main double threat. I had a lot of people who could score, but it’s her sheer consistency. “
Since Jan. 1, Miller shot close to 50 percent from the field with many of those shots coming from the perimeter. Miller was South’s top scorer, averaging 11 points a game.
“Last year Julie Hahn was here, and she took a lot of pressure off people,” Mattern said. “She was the one people considered our outside threat, and that’s the specific area where Calla has improved.”
The Titans’ coach says she noticed a change in Miller when she returned from Princeton Elite Camp last summer.
“That was the first time I was like, ‘Wow, she’s really ready to have a great season,’” Mattern said. “She had a great season, and Calla was a great teammate and a positive force on the team.
“She made passes that not many people can make. When we’re in trouble on the offensive end, she’s the one who will step up and try and take things on her shoulder, but yet she’s always looking to reverse the ball and finish the play – not just for herself but her teammates as well. As the quality of Calla’s play increased, so did our team’s play.”
When Mattern took over South’s program two years ago, she knew immediately she had inherited a player who was passionate about her sport.
“Calla’s always been at everything,” the Titans’ coach said. “Her work ethic is amazing. She is always in the gym, she’s always shooting, she’s always working out.
“When other people are ready to call it a day, she just keeps going. She has that same work ethic in the classroom, and that’s what really makes her stand out from others.”
An honors student, Miller places a high value on academics, and that was a top priority when it came time to select a college. The senior guard will take her talents to Haverford University where she will play basketball.
The decision to choose Haverford, according to Miller, was a relatively easy one to make.
“The coach, Bobbi Morgan, was at my first game of this past AAU season,” she said. “She got in touch right away, and it just clicked.
“Haverford is such a great school. I was looking for a rigorous academic school. I really like the atmosphere, and I like the coach.”
Miller committed to Haverford in November.
“I had my admissions interview the week before early decision,” she said. “That’s when I decided this is where I wanted to go.
“It was such a relief. I wanted to get it done with before my season started, so I could focus on my senior year.”
As Miller was growing up, she tried all the sports that came down the pike – soccer, softball, field hockey, lacrosse and basketball. Basketball was the easy winner when it came time to choose.
“My family was most passionate about basketball,” she said. “My brother played, my dad coached, and I was around it all the time.
“The boys were always playing basketball outside. It was something I was always around. I kind of gravitated towards it.”
So when it came time to work on her game, Miller was an eager student.
“She went to camps, she played AAU, she was at open gyms, she has been at spring league, summer league and fall league,” Mattern said. “She’s been at everything.
“She has really dedicated herself to the team and to the sport.”
Miller – who played for the Lady Running Rebels - credits AAU for playing a major role in her development on the basketball court.
“It’s a completely different level, a completely different pace than high school,” she said. “In high school, I feel like I have always played with the same girls. We played travel together, we played middle school together, and it’s great because they are my best friends. We understand each other on the court.
“AAU forced me to develop my own personal game outside of that comfort zone. I think that was probably the biggest thing I learned from AAU – just personal development and learning to play with other people.”
South’s season came to an end in the opening round of the playoffs when they fell to Perkiomen Valley 46-44, but earning a playoff berth after stumbling out of the gate was an accomplishment in itself for the Titans.
“I am definitely happy with the progression the team has made and how we got ourselves out of the hole we made for ourselves,” Miller said. “I’m definitely proud of my team and what we have accomplished.”
