For junior Nathan Miller, those endless hours of shooting on the goal in his neighbor’s backyard have finally paid off. On April 29, he verbally committed to play lacrosse at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

“It is a relief in a lot of ways,” said Miller. “But at the same time, I have the pressure of getting ready for a tough college and I need to keep up with school still.”

With his commitment, Miller becomes the second junior athlete to have their college decision made early. Jane Aman was the first, verbally committing to the College of William and Mary in February to playsoccer for the Tribe.

“It’s quite a relief knowing where I am going to college,” said Aman. “It saves the stress of college applications and waiting to get an acceptance letter.”

Aman has played soccer almost her entire life, starting at age four. Her club team, FCVirginia Explosion, is one of the best soccer teams in the area and that high level of play will continue in college.

“[William and Mary’s] women’s soccer program is one of the best in the nation and I feel like I can really grow as a player there,” said Aman.

Aman is the goalkeeper on the girls soccer team at AHS and has held opponents to a 1.00 goals against average. She will continue to play goalie at the college level.

“I hope to better myself as an all around player and hone my skills as a goalkeeper,” said Aman.

Miller took up lacrosse a little later in his childhood, starting in the fifth grade. The later start, however, did not affect his growth as a player.

“I was coached by Dave Britton until I got to high school,” said Miller. “He is very passionate about the game and encouraged me to practice all the little things that make an average player become great.”

Miller has certainly become a great high school lacrosse player. After making the varsity team as a freshman, Miller was a key contributor at midfield when the team made its run to the state tournament. As a sophomore, Miller was named first team all-district and second team all-region as an attackman and this year he has been named first team all-district again and is a strong candidate for first team all-region when it is announced. He has compiled 160 points in his high school career so far and is on pace to break several AHS lacrosse records. It is not a surprise that he had interest from colleges already.

“I had several schools that were interested in me but after visiting West Point, it clearly stood out above all the others I was considering,” said Miller. “I’m looking forward to getting a great education, playing lacrosse at a high level and being prepared for all the opportunities I will have after graduation.”

Education and post-graduation opportunities were also a major factor in Aman’s decision to choose William and Mary over other schools that had interest in her.

“I did have other schools who were interested in me, but I chose William and Mary because it is an excellent school, it offers all of the majors I am interested in and I felt like I belonged there,” said Aman. “The campus is beautiful and the people are great.”

Aman has had comparable success on the soccer field. She also made the varsity team as a freshman and earned first team all-district honors in her sophomore and junior seasons. Her success does not come easily though.

“I normally play almost everyday except for Sunday [during the spring season],” said Aman. “In the fall season-with my club team-I practice three times a week and then have one training session with my goalkeeping coach and two games on the weekend. And during the off-season, I have regular training sessions and at least two tournament weekends. That’s pretty much how I ended up having the opportunity to play at William and Mary.”

The AHS soccer team will compete in the Patriot District tournament starting on May 17 and will rely heavily on Aman to make the key saves in close games. The lacrosse team will look to Miller to lead them into a deep run in the Northern Region tournament and, hopefully, to the state tournament. But for now, the two athletes can relax, knowing their college decision is made.

“I absolutely love [soccer] and knowing I will be continuing to play it in college has pretty much made my year,” said Aman.