Kelsey
Miller fits as role model for Grand Haven cheer

Cliff Yankovich | Advance Newspapers, February 10, 2009

Kelsey Miller

When Grand Haven
competitive cheer coach Holly Barnett was asked for the name of a "good
kid" on her team to profile here, she knew exactly what was wanted and
offered up a perfect example of a student-athlete who is doing it right in
and out of school and in sports: Kelsey Miller.

"She has been
quite a leader for us," Barnett explained. "Kelsey never says,
‘I can't' or ‘I won't.' She is always enthusiastic and is a role
model to all of her teammates."

Miller, a senior,
has been cheering all four years for the Bucs. She is a flier on the
competitive cheer team, which means that she allows two or three fellow team
members to toss her into the air on a very regular basis. Miller did admit
that allowing other people to throw her into the air made her a little
nervous for the first year or two of the six seasons she has been competing
in the sport.

"I'm not scared
anymore," Miller said. "I like being tossed in the air - I have
grown to love it. My bases are amazing."

Bases are the three
girls who are responsible for throwing, and, more importantly, catching
Miller during stunts. Coach Barnett has moved personnel around more than
once, which meant Miller has had to work with new bases, but she took it all
in stride and never complained.

Barnett praised
Miller for being flexible, both physically and mentally, and went on to say
how much she appreciated the way Miller worked patiently with underclassmen.
She said Miller was always encouraging them and took the time to teach them
routines.

It seems that Kelsey
is the same kind of person in her daily life. Her mom, Deb Jackson, used the
words kind and caring more than once when she discussed her youngest
daughter. Oldest sister Nicole, 25, is a teacher, and Megan, 22, is set to
graduate as an RN this year from GVSU. Kelsey plans on attending Grand Valley as well. She is
poised to enter the health care profession, but she has not narrowed her
major down just yet.

Jackson reported that she
is a mixture of happy and sad at the prospect of her last daughter going off
on her own. This is largely due to the generally cheerful and easygoing
attitude that Kelsey has demonstrated for almost all of her life. In addition
to those glowing terms of endearment, Deb also explained that her daughter is
busy.

"Today I think
I saw her for around 10 minutes," Jackson related with a
laugh.

She went on to
explain that in the fall Kelsey coached the middle school cheerleaders in
addition to cheering for the Bucs football team. Kelsey has a 3.70 GPA and is
really enjoying her anatomy and physiology classes.

She is also a
fourth-year student of French and is very excited about an upcoming trip to France over Spring Break
with about 40 other kids and some chaperones. They will be down in the southern
part of the country by the Riviera and will spend time
in and around Paris as well.

"I have always
loved the country and language of France," Kelsey said.
"It has always been my dream to go there. I'm hoping my French holds up
well."

This is not the
first time Kelsey has traveled. She has always been involved with First
Presbyterian in Grand Haven and has made several mission trips with a group
from there. She has gone to Chicago to volunteer in
soup kitchens, thrift stores and to work with kids on three different
occasions. Kelsey also spent a week in Renosa, Mexico, which is about 45
miles south of the Texas border.

She went there two
years ago on her Spring Break and spent the time building classrooms on a
school. Miller said that she learned to mix concrete, did a lot of painting
and hauled roofing materials around. It was surprising to learn that while
she is perfectly happy being tossed in the air and spinning and flipping, she
opted out of working on the roof because she felt uncomfortable going up on
it.

When one learns of
Miller's close and longtime friendships, then it is no surprise when she
relates that one of the things she enjoys the most about the competitive
cheer team is the bonding experience. Kelsey has been close friends with Monica
Johnson, Jaime Smith and Samantha Racey since the
third grade. In fact, one can be pretty sure a couple of them were in the
background when Miller spoke with us.

While she has not
nailed down her career goals yet, it doesn't take much work to imagine this
kind-hearted young lady choosing a vocation in which her cheerful demeanor
and compassion for others will come to the fore.

"I can easily
see her in a field where she is helping people," Deb Jackson concluded.

One couldn't agree
more.