Valerie Miller

Mom❤ Wife❤ Educator❤ Woman of God❤ Author❤ Chosen to SOW❤️Raising Warriors 365

[Inside The Cougars @InsideSIUE]

Needed this! It's great to see the guys back at it. Team looks physical and locked in. Can't wait for the season. 🔥

[Inside The Cougars @InsideSIUE]

You love to see it‼️

This community just keeps embracing SIUE and it’s awesome to see.

[Brandon Ramsey @BRamseyKSR]

Final: Indiana All-Stars 94 Kentucky All-Stars 80

Indiana Mr. Basketball Luke Ertel finished with 21 points, 8 rebounds, & 8 assists. Baron Walker added 18 points & 7 rebounds. Brennan Miller had 14 points & 8 rebounds.

Kentucky Mr. Basketball Jake Feldhaus had 25 points & 16.

[Valerie Miller @Vrm8903]

My boy!!!!

[Indy Heat - Gym Rats @indyheatgymrats]

Congratulations and good luck to Cam Webster and Brennan Miller as they compete in the Indiana All‑Star Game tonight at Gainbridge Fieldhouse 🔥

#IndyHeatAlums

[LN Wildcats @lnwildcats]

Brennan Miller and Cam Webster being introduced as Indiana All-Stars tonight at Gainbridge Fieldhouse!

[Kyle Neddenriep @KyleNeddenriep]

Brennan Miller (20 points and 12 rebounds) and Baron Walker (17 points) in Indiana All-Stars 106-83 win over Kentucky. Under pressure here with entire Indiana All-Star girls team watching interview

[LT Schools @ltgoodnews]

“Brennan Miller was the ideal example for any aspiring student athlete, boy or girl,” Lawrence North coach Chris Giffin said. “He is the epitome of what having high character and a sound moral compass can do to enhance an athlete. One of LN’s all-time greats on the court and his greatest legacy lives on culturally.” @lnwildcats @BrennanJMill23

[LN Wildcats @lnwildcats]

Miller and Webster earn spots on the Indy Star Super Team! https://t.co/bqvFwaP3Wh @LNHSwildcats @ltgoodnews @cgiffin78

[Kyle Neddenriep @KyleNeddenriep]

Congrats to the 2026 @indallstars team. Pictured here are @EvanHarrell18 @nickshrews11 @DaneCaldwell_22 and @KaiMcgrew25 https://t.co/A5EFbjLR3Y

[LN Wildcats @lnwildcats]

Senior Brennan Miller is a finalist for the Indiana Mr. Basketball Award! See the article from the Indy Star here: https://t.co/Pxxznzicus @LNHSwildcats @ltgoodnews @cgiffin78

[LN Wildcats @lnwildcats]

Congratulations to senior Brennan Miller for being selected to the IBCA "Supreme 15" All-State team! Well deserved! @lnhswildcats @ltgoodnews @cgiffin78 @LNBoysBball

[LN Wildcats @lnwildcats]

Lawrence North is proud to present senior Cameron Webster as a candidate for the Indiana All-State and All-Star teams! @IBCA_Coaches @LNHSwildcats @ltgoodnews @cgiffin78

[LN Wildcats @lnwildcats]

Lawrence North is proud to present senior Brennan Miller as a candidate for the Indiana All-Star and All-State teams! @LNHSwildcats @IBCA_Coaches @ltgoodnews @cgiffin78

[Valerie Miller @Vrm8903]

Let’s have a conversation, Facebook.

As a basketball mom, educator, and author (I’ll link the books in the comments), I’ve spent some time reflecting this week. After many conversations and looking at the bigger picture, I keep landing on a few questions about the current landscape of student athletics.

This isn’t about pointing fingers or criticizing any specific situation. It’s about asking some honest questions and inviting a thoughtful conversation from people who care about our young people.

Before I share them, let’s keep this a healthy discussion. Please refrain from profanity or bashing children or families and remember that this is a public platform.

These thoughts are not an attack on anyone but merely questions and reflections heard from many different conversations this week.

If you know me well enough, you know that I believe strongly in students being active in extracurricular activities. You also know I am a huge supporter of youth sports. I believe sports teach young people discipline, character, integrity, grit, and stamina.

My own children will tell you that we remind them all the time:

No excuses. Go out there and compete. Work hard. Be dedicated. Use whatever platform God allows you to be on as a witnessing opportunity.

But as I reflect and listen to conversations happening around me, I’m starting to wonder if the current state of sports is reinforcing some of those values the way it once did.

Yes, a majority of that responsibility falls on parents, but those same values should also be reinforced through schools, coaches, and athletic programs.

So here are a few questions that keep coming to mind:

• Do we realize that beginning with this year’s graduating class, student athletes are not just competing with their peers but also with the transfer portal and new transfer rules?

• Before jumping in the comments, this means students are not only competing against classmates but also against grown adults, policy changes, exceptions, and a completely different athletic landscape.

• Do these rules and policies truly encompass the voices of students, teachers, and coaches on both sides of these decisions?

• Are we okay with high school basketball starting to resemble college-level athletics?

• Are we okay with college athletics beginning to resemble the professional sports realm?

• Where do academics fit into all of this?

• Are we unintentionally devaluing the power of education and continual learning in the pursuit of athletics?

• Who is truly taking advantage of these new rules and the transfer portal?

• Does this lend itself to a different conversation about youth athletics altogether?

• What statistics show that this system actually works for students?

• Are students suffering from being so transient?

• Do we risk losing the sense of community and teamwork when rosters constantly change and no one knows who will be on the team from year to year?

All in all, there is a lot to consider.

My message is simple: let’s lean in and pay attention to the whole picture.

There absolutely should be exemptions for special circumstances and life-changing events, but the concern many people have is whether the system is being used appropriately or abused.

Who knows? I guess time will tell.

For any sports parents looking for resources, check out the links in the comments — especially Battles from the Bleachers. I feel like there is more conversation to come on this topic.

Athletics can open doors, but education and character are what sustain a life. We must make sure our systems still reflect that truth.

#hoopmom
#raisingwarriors
#battlesfromthebleachers
#wearetheirvillagetheirvoice

[Valerie Miller @Vrm8903]

https://t.co/bbXZKh6UFy

[LN Wildcats @lnwildcats]

Congratulations to senior Brennan Miller on being selected the MIC Conference Player of the Year for 2025-2026! The senior is headed west to play for the SIUE Cougars next year. Outstanding young man! @LNHSwildcats @ltgoodnews @cgiffin78 @IBCA_Coaches @KyleNeddenriep

[LN Wildcats @lnwildcats]

Congratulations to seniors Brennan Miller and Cameron Webster on being selected to the All-Marion County First Team! Wonderful recognition for two outstanding student-athletes! @LNHSwildcats @IBCA_Coaches @cgiffin78

[LN Wildcats @lnwildcats]

Congratulation to Duke Karnes, Britton Thomas, and Chandon Gilbert on being recognized as All-Marion County Honorable Mention! Congratulations gentlemen! @ltgoodnews @LNHSwildcats @cgiffin78

[LT Schools @ltgoodnews]

Congratulations to Cam Webster and Brennan Miller of @lnwildcats on selection to the 2026 All-Marion County @IndyStarSports basketball team! #LTpride

Honorable mention includes Duke Karnes (LN) and Caleb Wells (LC).