By NICK KOSKO Staff Writer High school coaches often preach that there are no excuses when it comes to working your tail off and giving 100 percent on every play, rep, throw or sprint. Some kids are not born with natural athletic talent, and some are born with disabilities that may limit them from competing in athletics altogether. However, one high school athlete is not letting his physical limitations affect his work ethic. Egg Harbor Township senior Tyler Millett, despite suffering from cerebral palsy, is considered one of the hardest working athletes in the entire school. Yes, this kid is a strong and hard working athlete despite having to use crutches to get around. During the past few years, Millett has turned into a regular in the high school weight room and an honorary assistant coach for the Eagles’ football team. “Coach T” as he is called, never missed a game and never missed a weight room session. Well, that hard work is paying off as Millett now has the chance to compete in the track and field Meet of Champions, the biggest high school meet in New Jersey. Millett will compete in wheelchair events such as the shot put, discus, javelin and the 100-meter and 400-meter dashes. “I look at other people and they inspire me. I like the fact that I am getting stronger every day and people all around me get to see what I am doing,” Millett said. Inside the weight room, Millett spends a lot of time working with senior football and track star Dante Moore. Moore said Millett is just like any other kid in the weight room and they are constantly pushing each other to get better. “We get on him when he’s tired and he gets on us when myself and others are tired,” Moore said. “But it’s truly amazing to see him work so hard because a lot kids will take their God-given abilities for granted and Tyler is in here working just as hard — if not harder — than everybody. He’s always in this room with a smile on his face giving 100 percent.” 
Tyler Millett has been helping out the Egg Harbor Township football team for the past couple of years, and this spring he is trying his hand at track and field, as the school and community rallied to raise enough funds to purchase a racing wheelchair for him. (Glory Days Magazine file photos/Ben Hale, Dave O’Sullivan) Because of Millett’s condition, a special custom wheelchair needed to be made and ordered so he could compete in the Meet of Champions. Head boys track coach Ryan Smith created a “Go Fund Me” webpage dedicated to raising money for the wheelchair. His goal was to spread the news throughout the EHT community and hopefully raise enough money for the chair. Smith set the goal at $4,000 to cover the cost of constructing the custom racing wheelchair, and the page earned enough money in just two days. By raising more than $4000 in such a short time, Millett will be able to get his custom chair on time and be ready for the biggest sporting event of his life. “The majority of people who donated were EHT people, so it just goes to show that despite the immense size of the township, we are a close-knit community with tons of pride and are willing to support each other,” Smith said. “I feel like I matter to the people of the town and school when I hear they support me so much to even help get me the wheelchair I need,” Millett said. “It’s like having one big family.” Millett trains three days per week inside the weight room and gets to watch the track team outside while working with coaches Kevin Stetser and James Plummer on his throwing techniques. Once Millett’s chair officially comes in, he’ll be able to not only focus on the strength and distance of his throws, but also his speed on the track in his chair as he continues to strive to be the best. Smith had Millett in his adaptive physical education class during Millett’s freshman year and said that he saw the potential in Millett right from the beginning. “We started with him and a few other students doing a lot of body weight exercises, such as push-ups and pull-ups, and Tyler improved each year and eventually got into one of his favorites, the bench press,” Smith said. “He has worked so hard on his fitness and it’s something else to see him put up personal bests on the flat and incline bench presses — around 150 pounds when he only weighs about 110 pounds.” Not only has Millett inspired his fellow teammates and athletes in school, he’s been a big inspiration to his older sister, Gabby. Although she is a 2014 graduate and has not been in school with Tyler the past two years as he’s gotten heavily involved with the football team, she said she is excited to see him compete in June. “I am so stoked, it’s crazy. Once Tyler got really into working out, I would always hear his music blasting and see him lifting his weights and it turned into him doing it every day,” Gabby said. “It kind of gets me a bit emotional because I see such a difference in him when he is doing what he loves and how much he loves all of the support from the community.” Although Gabby does not compete in athletics anymore, she said Tyler gives her so much inspiration. “His passion for fitness has shown me that if you have a desire to do anything or have passion for a sport or activity, you have to go for it,” Gabby said. “Despite his limitations, he has a heart of gold and I’m proud to be his big sister. He’s my little hero.” Even Smith said the hard work Millett has put in to be able to compete at the MOC should inspire others with similar limitations or disabilities. “Any kid should have an opportunity to compete and participate if that is what they want to do,” Smith said. “It’s always been a goal of mine to get more kids like Tyler involved and show them they can do anything, and all it takes is time and effort.” “Tyler really inspires all kids in and out of the weight room, the football field, and on the track,” Moore said. “You see this kid making so much progress and he gives his full effort. So sometimes it’s a question to others, why can’t you give it your all? There is so much more that he’s done for other people than he’ll ever know.” Going from the football field to the track was an easy transition for Millett considering he sees a lot of familiar faces, and Smith is there to guide him as well. Millett said he feels right at home when he is out there just being one of the guys and working hard through all of the sweat, soreness and mental exhaustion. “Football was great even though it was tough to lose our final game. I’ll always be proud of all of the guys and I was always happy to be out there with them,” Millett said. “Getting ready for this track meet is just so awesome because I am just like my teammates and it is so fun to be there out there with my second family.” [adsense]
Boys track: Community rallies to provide funds for racing wheelchair for EHT’s Tyler Millett
