Fort Worth Paschal junior’s bike was stolen. The football team pitched in for a new one
Sean Miller loves football at Fort Worth Paschal.
He doesn’t play.
He films the practices and flies the team’s drone, but the program treats him as if he was another player. So when Miller’s bike - his main source of transportation - was stolen, the team decided to get him a new one.
“I’ve known Sean since middle school,” Paschal junior cornerback Niyonkuru Rodrique said. “It was tough hearing his bike was stolen. He makes us better by filming us every day, so why not help him out?”
Miller lives a couple miles from Paschal, where he’s a junior and entering his third season with the football program.
He said he was interested in drones because he has a passion for robotics.
“I met the coaches one time to see if I could do something for the football team,” Miller said. “I always wanted to be a robotic engineer ever since I was little and introduced to Transformers.”
Miller’s bike, which he rides to school nearly everyday was stolen on Friday, Sept. 4.
“Sean showed up late to practice and I asked what’s wrong and he said someone stole his bike,” head coach John Killough said. “I talked to the kids that day and asked them to pitch in. We have over 100 players in the program so two or three bucks adds up real quick.”
Assistant coach Matthew Hill was one of the first coaches to meet Miller.
He also helps Miller and other filmers run practice.
“Sean loves being here and flying the drone. It’s been a battle every year to find someone to film for us and we’ve been lucky with Sean the last couple years. He’s a big sports fan and he’ll talk a lot about football,” Hill said. “He’s a part of the football team and the team has really embraced him as part of their own.
“We didn’t get the funds from the school or booster club. It came from all the players. That was the coolest thing to me.”
The Monday after Miller’s bike was stolen, a new bike was waiting for him.
“I was very surprised and not expecting it,” Miller said. “I saw the bike and just thought it was belonged to someone else. It had the same exact Schwinn as mine. I was speechless.”
The coaches posted Miller’s reaction during practice on Twitter and it got over 25,000 views.
Another 10,800 viewed the video on MaxPreps.
“I’ve had a couple classes with Sean,” Paschal junior offensive lineman Davis Watts said. “Sean does a great job for us so watching his reaction was priceless. I told him that the video hit 30,000 views and he said ‘Am I famous now?’”
Added Miller, “I have the greatest friends on the football team and I would never have thought that the entire team would do this for me.”
This story was originally published September 29, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
