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Los Altos Hills resident Andy Miller, left, was a caddie for San Francisco 49er Jerry Rice for the entire summer. Miller met Rice two years ago and last June at Rice's "127" Foundation Charity Golf Tournament at the Los Altos Golf & Country Club. |
By Craig Wentz
Special to the Town Crier
Summer vacation is a time for high school students to play ball, work for extra money or take a family trip. But for 16-year-old Los Altos Hills resident Andy Miller, his memorable summer has involved lugging golf clubs and giving tips to a man who refers to Miller as "Coach." That man just happens to be a living legend and the greatest pass-catcher ever to snap on a chin strap.
Miller, who will be a junior at St. Francis High School in Mountain View this fall, has enjoyed the summer of 1996 by doing what most sports fans would pay a week's salary for and that's caddie for immortal San Francisco 49er receiver Jerry Rice. Yes, the all-time NFL touchdown maker (156) who also owns a record 942 career receptions.
Miller met Rice two years ago and last June, at Rice's "127" Foundation Charity Golf Tournament at the Los Altos Golf &Country Club in which Miller participated, Miller asked Rice if he could caddie for him at the Isuzu Celebrity Gold Tournament in Tahoe. Rice said "yes" and a dream come true was set in motion.
"Jerry said I could caddie for him only if I would commit for four days," said Miller, a member of the Lancer Golf Team. "So, I scouted the course (Edgewood) by walking 54 holes in nine hours over two days to prepare."
But caddying for Rice (a 14 handicap) in Tahoe earlier this month also enabled Miller to grab his share of publicity. Miller was mentioned on NBC's telecast of the tourney, was portrayed as Rice's golf "mentor" in a Sacramento newspaper article, conducted a Redding television interview and had the opportunity to be in the same threesome with top-ranked men's tennis phenom Pete Sampras, world champion boxer Oscar De La Hoya and as a bonus, got to meet the incomparable Michael Jordan.
"I learned that being a star is a lot harder than people think," explained the modest Miller. "They have to have 24-hour protection, and I feel sorry for them in that respect."
If Miller, himself a 5 handicap, absorbed any lessons from his unforgettable experience with Rice, it's that hard work pays dividends, and he learned that first hand from arguably the hardest worker in sports.
"Jerry is a great guy and he devotes a lot of time to golf in the off-season," Miller said. "A couple of times we were the last ones off the course, and he showed me that if you want to succeed, you have to devote a lot of (practice) time."
Miller has been playing full-time golf for the past four years and has been a big part of St. Francis' Golf success the last two seasons. His two under par last spring in a West Catholic Athletic League match at the Olympic Club's Ocean Course was a career best and would like to continue swinging in college.
"I really enjoy playing the game and would like to play at Arizona State or UCLA."
And to think that none of this would have happened had Miller not asked the simple question, "Can I caddie for you?"
© Copyright 1996. Select Communications Inc. Los Altos, California. All rights reserved.
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