YANQING, China. – Ask alpine skier Asa Miller to differentiate a fast ball from a curve ball or a sinker and you’d get a precise answer.
Miller, now a two-time Olympic alpine skier, spent some time behind the plate as catcher for the Lincoln High School, one of the oldest high schools in the US located in his base of Portland, Oregon.
But while catching balls in spring and summer, he would put on his skis come winter as dad Kelly’s been hooked to the sport and does community work as a member of the Ski Patroller in Mount Hood for 27 years.
It turned out that skis were his love and passion.
“I focused entirely on skiing as it became more serious, it’s what I love and my passion,” said Asa, who played baseball for Lincoln from 2015 to 2016.
The lure of the snow on the hills of Portland were enticing that at 18 months young, Kelly Miller said his son would frolic outside their home in the cold of winter.
Slowly and surely, Asa grew as a competitive skier. His dad entered him in a ski club, the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club, and is currently a member of the Snowbird Sports Education Foundation.
He was on the Mount Meadows race team and before he knew it, he had the Philippine flag on his chest as a 16-year-old at the 2017 World Junior Alpine Skiing Championships in Are, Sweden.
He finished 39th in slalom and that opened the world of competitive skiing to the now 21-year-old Fil-Am.
Kelly said Asa spent two years skiing in high school before deciding to go competitive on the international stage.
“Clubs are more competitive than high school,” Kelly said. “When he turned 16, we started talking of joining the Philippine team in 2016.”
