PACE — Rising Pace High School freshman Lee Miller will attend an Olympic Team USA weightlifting camp July 29.
He received the invitation after his June performance at the Team USA National Youth Championships with the CrossFit Pace Patriot team.
Miller’s father, Mike Miller, a Pensacola Homeland Security Investigations agent and former Santa Rosa County deputy, encouraged Lee, and his brother, Luke, to get into CrossFit.
“They’ve always been big,” Mike said. “I wanted to build their self-confidence through learning more physical skills and being able to move their bodies effectively and get in shape … (They’re) learning ‘I can’ and figuring out how instead of ‘I can’t.’”
According to Sandy Paladino, co-owner of Crossfit Pace Patriot Pride with her husband, Joey, the boys, Luke Miller, Lee Miller, and Mario Ortiz ranked fourth in the nation while Kaila Corbridge came in 17th for girls.
“When (Lee) started, he had no clue how to weight-lift. His passion fuels him to be so good. I’m proud not only of him but the whole team,” Paladino said.
Miller knows the camp could draw collegiate scouts’ attention. And, if it did, what would be his dream school?
“If I get (a scholarship), I want to go to Northern Michigan (University),” the location of a U.S. Olympic training site, he said.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Pace teen invited to attend Olympic weightlifting camp