Talented athlete overcomes health challenges

Darian McMillen, 14, is modest about her talents and accomplishments, both athletic and academic. But the upcoming freshman at Fort Bend Christian Academy has a competitive drive that has carried her through a debilitating injury in a sport that she loved through to a comeback with a winning streak and continued accomplishment in another, all while maintaining membership in the National Junior Honor Society.

Darian was an accomplished gymnast in third and fourth grade; in 2013, she placed seventh in Texas at the level 4 state meet. “I never expected to go that far. I loved it. It was really fun and challenging,” she said.

At age 10 in 2014, Darian started complaining of back pain after her first level 5 meet. “It kind of just started hurting. I thought it was from flipping back and stuff like that,” she said. “Then we found out it was a big, horrible thing.” Two stress fractures had developed into spondylolisthesis, a spinal disorder in which two of her vertebrae slipped forward, causing her pain that lasted for awhile.

She recovered with physical therapy, medication, rest and wearing a back brace every day through the end of fourth grade and in fifth grade. At the start of sixth grade in September 2015 Darian knew her days as a gymnast were over when she attempted it again and reinjured her back.

It was hard to go from three years of competitive gymnastics to never being involved with it again. She took awhile to find her footing. However, when she
was younger, Darian swam in summer leagues but hadn’t been involved for a few years. As a sixth-grader, she was healthy enough to join the FBCA swim team. She immediately showed her aptitude and athleticism with personal-best times and several medals.

“She knew she enjoyed swimming but wasn’t sure if she wanted to make the commitment. I think she finally realized she missed the competition,” said her mom, Alisha McMillen.

Swimming is the perfect sport for her because it is doesn’t place stress on her back and has strengthened her core muscles. She also excels at it. “When she put her mind to it and committed to swimming, there was no turning back,” said Alisha.

In 2016 when she was seventh grade, Darian joined a competitive swim league, Platinum Aquatics, where she quickly progressed from junior to pre-senior level and swam in the 2017 Fall Champs relay with more experienced swimmers. Earlier this year, she swam in her last middle school Champs meet, reaching her goal of coming in under one minute in the 100-meter freestyle, placing third. At the Spring Champs meet, she was in the top 10 in all of her events and earned two gold, one silver and two bronze medals.

Darian’s coach at Platinum Aquatics, Greg Spano, sees her as a talented, all-around athlete. “She has become a more well-rounded swimmer this year. She has worked very hard on developing all four of the competitive strokes, and it has shown in her individual medley events,” Spano said. “She has continued to develop strength in her primary sprint events in butterfly and freestyle but has worked very hard on breast stroke and back stroke.” Darian is one of the Platinum’s top swimmers in freestyle and butterfly.

“She is an awesome young lady and I am honored to have the opportunity to coach her,” Spano said.

“I pretty much do everything, because on our team we believe in knowing all the strokes and doing every event. I like free style and breast stroke,” Darian said. Since the FBCA swim season ended in January, Darian competed with the club team in the short course (25 meters) champs; she likes the sprints because “I can push myself really hard really fast,” and this summer has moved into long course, which covers 50 meters – what the Olympians swim.

Competing in the Olympics is in the back of her mind, but she says it’s fine if she doesn’t make it to the games. For now, she’s working hard and focused on her races. While athletes at all levels shoot for winning medals, Darian challenges herself by focusing on beating her last time. “I’m always trying to beat the USA Swimming motivational times for the long course and short course times, trying to get to next level. Those are fast,” she said. “Even if I don’t drop that amount of time I want to, I’m still happy with my race most of the time. As I’m getting older it’s going to take a longer time to drop times because the increments are smaller, so I just keep pushing though the hard work and the pain.”

Besides swimming this summer, Darian will attend a leadership program in Florida with FBCA called Student Leadership University (SLU). She’s also part of a program at FBCA called Students Active in Leadership Training (SALT) for which students are chosen through an application and interview process with a focus on spirituality, grades and service.

One place Darian sees the opportunity to be a leader is with her swim teams, helping younger swimmers who don’t yet know the ropes and performing tasks that the coach might give her. Coach Spano already sees her as a mentor who leads by example. “Darian is a very quiet leader. She gives 100 percent on everything she does whether it’s dry land training during practice, swim sets and racing at meets. The younger swimmers notice this – they will watch her and how she works during practices and competes at meets. When we work on specific things like turns and/or starts with the younger swimmers, Darian is always eager to work with them.”

Darian has a mature way of looking at life considering the pressure she’s under as a student, athlete and upcoming leader. Despite the pain that sometimes still bothers her and the likelihood she will need surgery when she’s an adult to fuse the vertebrae together, she has an upbeat, spirited nature and an empathy for others. She handles the pressure of getting all As in school and competitive swimming with her usual composure and assurance.

“I just do my best,” she said.