Behind the Balance: Jack Miller ’27 — Keydet Men’s Soccer
Virginia Military Institute’s cadet-athletes have to juggle cadet life, heavy academic course loads, and their NCAA Division I sport. Committed to both academic and athletic pursuits, balancing their rigorous schedule in both sports and school requires a certain level of commitment and discipline. Behind the Balance is a series that focuses on those cadet-athletes and how they handle the hurdles of the day-to-day.
The only step Jack Miller ’27 wanted to take after high school was to attend Virginia Military Institute. In fact, it was the only school he applied to.
Military schools aren’t something foreign to him. He attended Benedictine College Preparatory, a private Catholic military high school in Richmond. And it’s something he wanted in a college atmosphere.
“I think it’s the discipline,” he said. “Having to follow a strict order of things every day … I feel like in life that’s going to help you out a lot.”
He was also committed to playing soccer at VMI — something he had spent the majority of his life devoted to. Starting at the age of 5, Miller played for the high school team and a travel team, practicing twice a day.
“It was a lot, but it was always my goal to play in college,” he explained. “My travel team in high school was competitive, and a lot of us went to big schools to play.”
He said not only has he grown with the Keydet team, but the team itself has developed.
“We’ve had our ups and downs. I think my class has really brought everyone together and set a good example for the team,” he said. “All of us are really close right now, and we talk to each other about everything. We have team meetings and try to organize stuff.”
He admits that soccer isn’t always his number one priority. Being a civil engineering major taking 17 and a half credits, he has to stay on top of that as well.
Cadet-athletes at VMI not only have their responsibilities with their selected sport but cadet duties on top of that. Cadets are also required to take physical fitness classes twice a week, participate in ROTC all four years, prepare for room and uniform inspections, practice for parade, guard duty, and more.
He normally wakes up at 5:30 a.m. to grab a snack and do weightlifting with the team. Then it’s on to breakfast and classes. He takes about three classes a day with a two-hour break in between , which allows him to get his assignments finished.
“Most nights, I usually have all my homework done because of that gap,” he said.
He starts practice at 5 p.m., which runs to about 7 p.m., then they eat as a team. He usually studies at night with a hard stop at 10:30 p.m.
“I like to keep a schedule and write down everything I have to do, then I look ahead in the week,” he explained. “I try to figure out what times I can get certain things done. You don’t really have much time to do other things here, but I think having that during the week makes your weekends so much more enjoyable.”
The predictability of his schedule helped him this summer when he had an internship and an online class to take.
“It was an 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. internship. I was waking up at 7 a.m., going to get breakfast before work, working, then I’d go for a run or weightlift,” he said. “Then I would get that done and have my summer class from 7 to 10 p.m.”
Miller said his time at VMI will help him in the future. Things like taking a public speaking class was a smart move for him, he said, because it was something he struggled with in high school.
“I think it’s definitely led me to becoming more disciplined and able to communicate,” he stated. “It’s definitely the structure of things. It puts me in a good headspace where I know what to do at all times of the day. Everything’s very regimented.”
