Brick by brick, Brady Mider is building an extraordinary resume

The sun was but a rumor, the recent coming of spring a myth. The thermometer never challenged 50; light drops of rain dampened the shot put ring. Brady Mider was there anyway, patting dry that heavy metal sphere before each launch.

There are no days off on the path to greatness.

Just a few weeks earlier the Berks Catholic senior had tossed a shot put more than 63 feet, one of the best throws in the nation this year, but he wasn’t resting on that magnificent throw. He was out working for the next 63, and the 64 and 65 expected to follow, sun or no sun.

“My mindset is still to get here (to train), no matter the day, no matter how I feel,” Mider said on yet another overcast, bone-chilling day. “Obviously I don’t want to throw in the rain. (But) someone else is always going to be better than you. That’s motivating me.”

And so he makes his way to Garage Strength every day after school, to lift and train and throw and listen to his mentors, hoping to coax another inch or two out of his burly 6-1, 285-pound frame.

“Brick by brick, every day,” he said. “You can’t slack off. You’ve gotta put in the work and be consistent, and consistently be here to be great at this sport.”

That’s been Brady Mider’s mindset for years. He grew up thinking he’d be the next Steph Curry and made his way to Garage Strength to get stronger and more fit for his first love, basketball. Then he saw a bunch of big guys — guys that looked more like him — huddled around one of the throwing circles out in the parking lot and he was intrigued.

The next day he showed up to train for a new sport; he soon returned home asking his dad Mike for a pair of throwing shoes.

Five years and a bunch of shoes later he’s a two-time Pennsylvania Indoor champ, a heavy favorite to win a second straight PIAA championship come late May and an Iowa Hawkeyes recruit. He committed to the program last fall.

He finished eighth at the Nike Indoor Nationals in early March. Later, at the same meet, he won the Shotput Showcase. That’s where he uncorked his personal best 63-1.25. He did it in the finals and beat Ben Smith of Wisconsin, the top-ranked thrower in the nation; Smith threw a national season best 68-4.25 earlier in the meet.

Smith and the nation’s other top throwers brought out the best in Brady Mider. They always seem to.

“I love being in pressure situations,” he said. “I think that’s when I throw best. When (I’m competing against) someone who’s better than me and I know — ‘I need to throw this far to win’ – I just lock in and get it done. Some people will fold under pressure; I do my best.”

That will be Mider’s biggest challenge in his final season of high school track: Finding someone to push him in competition. Really, there isn’t anyone around who can do that right now. He is in his own league.

He was the only Pennsylvania thrower to top 60 feet during the indoor season – and it wasn’t just one of those out-of-left-field, once-in-your-lifetime throws, either. He’s popping 60’s on a regular basis these days. He did it at least 10 times in competition during the just-completed winter season.

He was the only thrower in the state to top 60 last spring, as well.

No one in Berks came within five feet of him during the 2023 outdoor season; only one thrower in the state came within four feet.

Unless Exeter’s Logan Wegman takes another big step forward – and that’s certainly a possibility – Mider likely won’t be challenged this spring outside his trip to the Penn Relays later this month. He finished fourth there last year, facing international competition.

Mider was fortunate to have eventual state champ and Berks record-setter Jven Williams as a foe two seasons ago. He was pushed to the max every time they shared the ring for a local event. He won’t have that luxury this season.

“It’s nice having someone to push me,” Mider said. “Like last year I had my teammate, Alexander Witmer. He was a couple feet behind me, but he pushed me to be better.”

Mider is not worried about any of that right now. He just goes to work each day, adding brick atop brick, knowing he’s building something special.

“He just loves being around the sport and the guys,” says Mike Mider. “He doesn’t want to miss a day. That’s just his thing.”

Brady Mider admits to being a little surprised when he uncorked that 63-foot throw – nearly two feet better than his previous best. But only a little.

“With the shot put, as soon as you release it out of your hand you know, ‘Oh, that’s gonna be a good one,’ ” he said.

He slapped his hands together in excitement after unleashing the throw but otherwise didn’t celebrate all that much. He was fulfilled by the achievement, knowing that his daily grind was paying off. That was enough.

“Him hitting that 63 just told us that what we’re doing is right, and it’s getting us closer to that ultimate vision,” said Sam Weeks, the Garage Strength throws coach Mider trains with daily. “Everything that we did is working; now we’ve got to continue that process so that we can do it again during the outdoors.”

Sixty feet is the bar that every high school thrower aims for; precious few reach it. Brady Mider chased that magical number for years. It once seemed so distant; now it is his baseline.

“That shows my hard work is paying off, and that everything I do is for a reason,” he said of his consistent string of 60-footers during the winter season. “Now my goal is to keep building and throw even farther.”