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Hunter Miller (Andy Morales/AllSportsTucson.com)
Hunter Douglas Miller
April 24, 1994 – August 12, 2015
100 games. According to all available stats, Hunter Miller played in 100 varsity baseball games for Salpointe but he was much more than that. Much more.
There are over one million words in our language and most of them can be used to describe the life of a child. And, in a truly heartbreaking message, Hunter’s mom Jennifer simply said of her boy, “The kindest soul I have ever known.”
I had the fortune of watching Hunter play both baseball and golf at Salpointe. A hard thrower and a hitter on the diamond and a long drive on the fairway. Even more important, Hunter was always respectful. Always appreciative.
Still, in my mind, he was a boy. That’s how I choose to remember him.
Hunter was much more than just a boy with a ball in his glove, his coaches Danny Prebble, Vic Acuña, Ernie Durazo, Joe Luna, Gino Savard, Anthony Chavez and Brent Strom helped mold him into the young man he became.
If you live the life of club sports, like so many of us parents do, then you understand the need to turn your child over to coaches so they might help develop skills and character and those men did a fine job.
But “kindness” begins at a very young age.
Kindness never led to a no-hitter from the mound but it teaches you how to survive the errors and hits we all take as teenagers and adults. Kindness is the best way to handle what life has in store for us.
Most of what Hunter was, and is, came from his parents Jennifer and Michael. The kindness.
A million words and we still have yet to find one to comfort a parent in a time like this. I hope we never will. If a word could ease the pain of a lost child then that would be far too easy.
All we can say is “sorry” and all we can do is pray. As friends, our hearts break though many of us cannot understand the pain. But we try. We are here.
For me, I say “Thank You” for sharing Hunter with us.
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Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014 and has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. His own children have won multiple state high school championships and were named to all-state teams. Competing in hockey, basketball, baseball and track & field in high school, his unique perspective can only be found here, on AZPreps365.com and on the pages of the Vail Voice and the Tanque Verde Voice. Contact Andy Morales at AMoralesMyTucson@yahoo.com
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