Nate Millard has gotten a real kick out of switch to football
Nate Millard’s Daniel Boone teammates made fun of him when he would run directly off the field after kicking off, but the diminutive freshman was just following coach’s orders.
Rob Flowers, the Blazers’ head coach, liked the power and potential he saw in Millard’s right leg but he also feared for the kicker’s safety. He didn’t want to see the 96-pound Millard sent flying like a Ten-pin if struck by some bowling ball of a linebacker steaming upfield. Flowers made this rule: Kick the ball and sprint to the safety of the sidelines, or don’t play.
“He was so light, I didn’t (list) his weight in the program,” said Flowers.
“He did not want me getting touched,” said Millard, who grew up playing soccer.
His friends who played football had been encouraging him to try it and finally, as a seventh-grader, he did. In his first varsity game, Boone’s 2018 season-opener against Garden Spot, he was called out to attempt a 32-yard field goal in the first half.
Before the ball tumbled through the goal posts Nate Millard was hooked; he was a football player.
“After that, right away, (I decided): ‘This is for me,’ ” said Millard. ” ‘I like this.’ I wasn’t going to tell anyone (at the time) I was going to stop playing soccer but I think I had that mindset once I started.
“Football is such a great sport. It’s so different (from soccer). I don’t know how someone couldn’t enjoy that.”
Millard loved kicking footballs, so much, in fact, he eventually gave up soccer. He gave up travel ball after his sophomore year and stopped playing for the Blazers after his junior season. He saw the bigger picture.
“I decided it was time to start making some life decisions and do what was best for me,” he said. “Soccer wasn’t going to do anything for my future.”
Football, Millard hopes, will. He already has an offer to kick at Albright. He’s hoping his selection to the Pennsylvania Football Writers’ Class 5A All-State team last week will pique the interest of more college coaches.
It’s a tough market right now for high school football players to compete for scholarship dollars and squeeze onto college rosters that are maxed out because of the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA.
Many college teams have sixth-year seniors, mature 22- and 23-year-old guys with valuable experience; it’s tough for 17-years-olds to compete with that.
Besides, the college dollars have always been tough to come by for specialists. Generally they’ve got to hope to get a roster spot, then earn their scholarship through performance on the field.
Millard, now 5-10 and 150 pounds, certainly has the credentials to warrant a shot.
He’s coming off an outstanding senior season that saw him hit 4-of-7 field goals and 23-of-25 PATs. His best kick, from 46 yards, matched the Boone record for longest field goal. He’s hit more long field goals than any other Blazers kicker.
His numbers were even better as a punter: He averaged 44.3 yards per kick, outstanding at this level.
He’s got the intangibles, too. He’s a strong student and was selected as a captain by his teammates and coaches. You don’t see a whole lot of kickers walking out for the coin toss before a game.
“That tells you what kind of kid he is,” Flowers said. “He’s phenomenal. Great student, great young man. He’s viewed as one of the leaders at the school.”
Millard was honored as Berks Specialist of the Year at the Berks County Football Coaches banquet last month. The winner is determined by a formula that includes PATs, field goals, field goal distances, touchbacks, punting average and longest punt.
Following his freshman season Millard sought out John Zima, the Berks kicking guru, for instruction. His technique and strength got better. By the time he was a junior he met Flowers’ weight threshold, 135 pounds, and was allowed to stay on the field after kickoffs. He even got in on a few tackles.
Following his sophomore season he began working on his punting. Even though most guys at this level often handle both kicks and punts the techniques are completely different. Millard found punting a challenge.
“Punting is so hard,” he said. “It’s a lot more technical.”
He worked on it, though. Flowers stressed the importance of field position, and how a punter can alter the game, and Millard bought in.
He was a big part of why the Blazers were able to have a winning season and return to the district playoffs for the first time in seven years.
“He has put so much time and effort into his leg and kicking,” Flowers said. “He’s a smart kid, so he knows what he needs to practice on. He clearly gets it.”
“Once I started to get into it, I wanted to be good at it, and great at it,” Millard said.
Punting, tough as it was, is probably what put Millard over the top when it came to earning All-State votes.
When he learned he had made it the first person he sought out was his dad.
Rob Millard made countless trips to the field when his son wanted to work out on his own and needed someone to retrieve his kicks, provide encouragement.
“I gave him a big hug,” Nate said. “It was a very big moment for me.”
(This story has been updated to correct Millard’s first year in football.)
Recent All-State kickers and punters from Berks
| Nate Millard | Daniel Boone | 2021 |
| Aidan Cirulli | Wyomissing | 2020 |
| Sean Henry | Exeter | 2019 |
| Jonah Bowman | Wyomissing | 2012 |
| Taylor Bertolet | Exeter | 2010 |
| Mike Oliveto | Conrad Weiser | 2010 |
| Joe Schrump | Kutztown | 2008 |
| Nate Monderewicz | Conrad Weiser | 2008 |
| Ethan Brown | Wyomissing | 2007 |
| Matt Bertolet | Exeter | 2005 |
| Ryan Nye | Holy Name | 2004 |
| Ben Dato | Wyomissing | 2003 |
