By Jeff Odom
From a young age, Zachary Milliron can remember football being a big part of his life.
The 23-year-old would spend Saturday watching his favorite college team — the University of Florida. From the stands at Ben Hill Griffith Stadium in Gainesville or the TV, he envisioned that he too, could one day suit up and lead a team to victory.
But he never took a single snap on a football gridiron.
When Milliron was born, doctors discovered a rare defect in his heart and informed his parents that he might not live because of the condition. He was under the watchful eye of specialists at St. Joseph’s Hospital for a year before he went home for good.
The heart condition forced Milliron to undergo four open heart surgeries and other procedures in order to save his life. Before he began middle school at Ben Hill, a physician informed him he would never be able to play a contact sport, thus ending his football dreams.
“A lot of my friends were trying out for the flag football team, and I really knew I couldn’t play because of my heart condition,” Milliron said. “So, I went and talked to the coach, and I asked if I could just be part of the team. It was at that point where it was just like, ‘Wow, this is really cool.’ … I didn’t really know anything (about football). I just liked watching the games.”
With the dream of playing out of the question, Milliron traded in the football for a clipboard. By the time he started his freshman year at Gaither High, he knew what he wanted to be — a football coach.
“As I was around it more and more, and as I kept learning about it more, and as I would spend my Saturday’s watching every game, it kind of all just fell into place to the point that I knew I wanted to coach football,” Milliron said.
Milliron worked with the Cowboys football team during its 2007 district championship season, volunteering as their video coordinator where he filmed practices and edited the footage for other coaches. He would also sit in on meetings and work with the team as coaches broke down film for their next opponent.
Milliron did this until he graduated later that year and moved to Boca Raton, where he enrolled at Florida Atlantic University (FAU).
A unique job opportunity came his way from Olympic Heights High while in college.
“I contacted the head coach down there, and they were horrible,” Milliron said. “They had won like two games in five years, and I guess from talking to me he really thought I could help them and gave me the varsity wide receivers coach position.”
In his first year at Olympic Heights in 2009, Milliron helped lead the Lions to their first winning record and first playoff berth since 2002.
After two seasons, Milliron transferred to the University of South Florida (USF) to be closer to home while pursuing a degree in secondary education. He caught up with former Gaither coach Mark Kantor and was offered a position coaching quarterbacks until Kantor stepped down from the position in 2010.
“This, at the time, felt like a door had been slammed shut on me, but you know what they say, when God closes one door he always opens up another one; you just have to be faithful enough to walk through it,” Milliron said. “I started thinking, ‘Do I really want to be doing this for the rest of my life?’ It just wasn’t a good fit.”
Milliron followed his former boss to Wharton, where Kantor was hired as the defensive coordinator for the 2011 season. Milliron said Wildcats coach David Mitchell welcomed him to the program with open arms and made him the varsity offensive assistant and junior varsity (JV) offensive coordinator — his highest positions yet.
“In my first game (with the JV team), we played Tampa Bay Tech, and that was a major eye opening thing for me,” Milliron said. “I was like, ‘Wow, (former Gators coach) Urban Meyer makes it look easy calling plays.’ First play, a kid tore his ACL. Second play’s a pick six. Third play’s a fumble return for a touchdown. I’m like, ‘Time to regroup,’ but it was a great year and we had a lot of fun.”
Milliron was also an assistant on the Wharton baseball team that won a district championship last year and reached the Class 8A regional finals.
Once he finishes his degree at USF this year, Milliron hopes to join the Bulls’ coaching staff as a graduate assistant to continue his dream of being a Division I college or NFL coach.
He is preparing for the future by spending nearly 40 hours a week at Wharton while also waking up before dawn to study film of opponents and go over plays. Sometimes after a game, Milliron will only get three or four hours of sleep.
“I love coaching and know that I will make a career out of it, because I won’t let anything stop me,” Milliron said. “I might of been born with a ‘weak heart’ in the words of one cardiologist, but my determination and hard work makes me have the strongest heart in the world, and in my heart I know I will not only meet my goal but help a lot of people along the way.”
—Follow Jeff Odom on Twitter: @JOdomLaker
By Jeff Odom
From a young age, Zachary Milliron can remember football being a big part of his life.
The 23-year-old would spend Saturday watching his favorite college team — the University of Florida. From the stands at Ben Hill Griffith Stadium in Gainesville or the TV, he envisioned that he too, could one day suit up and lead a team to victory.
But he never took a single snap on a football gridiron.
When Milliron was born, doctors discovered a rare defect in his heart and informed his parents that he might not live because of the condition. He was under the watchful eye of specialists at St. Joseph’s Hospital for a year before he went home for good.
The heart condition forced Milliron to undergo four open heart surgeries and other procedures in order to save his life. Before he began middle school at Ben Hill, a physician informed him he would never be able to play a contact sport, thus ending his football dreams.
“A lot of my friends were trying out for the flag football team, and I really knew I couldn’t play because of my heart condition,” Milliron said. “So, I went and talked to the coach, and I asked if I could just be part of the team. It was at that point where it was just like, ‘Wow, this is really cool.’ … I didn’t really know anything (about football). I just liked watching the games.”
With the dream of playing out of the question, Milliron traded in the football for a clipboard. By the time he started his freshman year at Gaither High, he knew what he wanted to be — a football coach.
“As I was around it more and more, and as I kept learning about it more, and as I would spend my Saturday’s watching every game, it kind of all just fell into place to the point that I knew I wanted to coach football,” Milliron said.
Milliron worked with the Cowboys football team during its 2007 district championship season, volunteering as their video coordinator where he filmed practices and edited the footage for other coaches. He would also sit in on meetings and work with the team as coaches broke down film for their next opponent.
Milliron did this until he graduated later that year and moved to Boca Raton, where he enrolled at Florida Atlantic University (FAU).
A unique job opportunity came his way from Olympic Heights High while in college.
“I contacted the head coach down there, and they were horrible,” Milliron said. “They had won like two games in five years, and I guess from talking to me he really thought I could help them and gave me the varsity wide receivers coach position.”
In his first year at Olympic Heights in 2009, Milliron helped lead the Lions to their first winning record and first playoff berth since 2002.
After two seasons, Milliron transferred to the University of South Florida (USF) to be closer to home while pursuing a degree in secondary education. He caught up with former Gaither coach Mark Kantor and was offered a position coaching quarterbacks until Kantor stepped down from the position in 2010.
“This, at the time, felt like a door had been slammed shut on me, but you know what they say, when God closes one door he always opens up another one; you just have to be faithful enough to walk through it,” Milliron said. “I started thinking, ‘Do I really want to be doing this for the rest of my life?’ It just wasn’t a good fit.”
Milliron followed his former boss to Wharton, where Kantor was hired as the defensive coordinator for the 2011 season. Milliron said Wildcats coach David Mitchell welcomed him to the program with open arms and made him the varsity offensive assistant and junior varsity (JV) offensive coordinator — his highest positions yet.
“In my first game (with the JV team), we played Tampa Bay Tech, and that was a major eye opening thing for me,” Milliron said. “I was like, ‘Wow, (former Gators coach) Urban Meyer makes it look easy calling plays.’ First play, a kid tore his ACL. Second play’s a pick six. Third play’s a fumble return for a touchdown. I’m like, ‘Time to regroup,’ but it was a great year and we had a lot of fun.”
Milliron was also an assistant on the Wharton baseball team that won a district championship last year and reached the Class 8A regional finals.
Once he finishes his degree at USF this year, Milliron hopes to join the Bulls’ coaching staff as a graduate assistant to continue his dream of being a Division I college or NFL coach.
He is preparing for the future by spending nearly 40 hours a week at Wharton while also waking up before dawn to study film of opponents and go over plays. Sometimes after a game, Milliron will only get three or four hours of sleep.
“I love coaching and know that I will make a career out of it, because I won’t let anything stop me,” Milliron said. “I might of been born with a ‘weak heart’ in the words of one cardiologist, but my determination and hard work makes me have the strongest heart in the world, and in my heart I know I will not only meet my goal but help a lot of people along the way.”
—Follow Jeff Odom on Twitter: @JOdomLaker
