Cody Miller didn’t know what athletic training was or that it was even a profession until his mom, Ashley, met and married Scott Lochridge. Up until that point, all he’d ever wanted to be was an astronaut.

When Miller figured out math wasn’t exactly his strong suit by the ninth grade, however, space exploration was out. Athletic training was in.

And now that Miller’s a Cullman High and Troy University graduate, the two occupations are intertwined.

Sort of.

Does interning for the Women’s National Basketball Association’s Chicago Sky count?

One day after turning his tassel at Troy in early May, Miller took off from Cullman for the Windy City. In the two months since, he’s soaked in more than his fair share of work, play and new experiences.

First, the work.

Miller said the average non-gameday starts fairly early and consists of treatment for an hour or so, taping players up, watching practice for a couple of hours and another round of treatment.

Gamedays are longer and more involved. Miller and Co. are expected to arrive at the arena by 8 a.m., set up for shoot around for both teams, administer treatment and take an hour break for lunch, getting ready and changing clothes. When the 60 minutes are up, there’s more treatment, more getting ready and then, finally, game time.

So far, there have been zero major injuries under Miller’s watch.

“Knock on wood,” he said.

When the game is over, Miller’s main job is packing up. He said most of the women are exhausted by then and would rather bolt than stick around for any last attention from the training staff.

That’s just fine with Miller. Not that he’d complain about putting in some extra time for a group of ladies he’s grown fond of.

“Some of them, they’ve been in the league, they’ve seen it all. They keep it a little more business,” he said. “But for the most part, everybody’s really nice. Once you show them you’re willing to work and help them for their career, they definitely treat you just like one of the team.”

Miller is well aware of the public perception that women’s basketball is boring, but he’s been convinced of the complete opposite during his stay in Chicago. He recently watched a video of the Sky’s Elena Delle Donne reading mean tweets posted about her and the WNBA and didn’t find all the hate very funny.

“It’s kind of upsetting after you’ve worked with it because they put a lot of work into it,” he said. “It’s actually a lot more enjoyable than a lot of people give it credit. It’s definitely something that I’m glad I got to do and I wish I could stay a little longer if I didn’t have this job coming up.”

“This job” refers to the graduate assistant position with Alabama A&M’s men’s basketball program Miller will soon occupy. He’ll return to Cullman on the 20th and start his new gig in Huntsville on the 24th.

In the meantime, Miller has a little more than a week to live it up in the big city. Some of the activities he’s already tackled include a Cubs-Cardinals game at Wrigley Field, shopping at Pier Park and needing less than a week to try his very first Chicago deep-dish pizza.

“That was life changing,” he said.

Like most anywhere, Miller said Chicago has its pros and cons.

“The people are a lot nicer than what you would expect,” he said. “The drivers are a little bit crazier than in the South, I’ll say that. And there is a lot to do. There’s a little too much to do because there’s never enough time to do everything around here.”

Miller’s long-term goal is to secure a job with a college working basketball, soccer or lacrosse. He already has lacrosse experience after spending his last semester at Troy interning with Birmingham-Southern’s men’s and women’s programs.

“Some of my classmates and other people I’ve run across are all about football and baseball and bigger sports,” he said. “I’ve always found the less-wanted sports are the ones that are more fun and kind of take care of you a little more. They know not a lot of people want to work it. They know you want to. They know that you love the sport and you want to help them.”

Miller’s love for athletic training goes back to Lochridge, Cullman High’s athletic trainer through the Cullman Regional Medical Center. Miller always heard Lochridge say he hadn’t worked a day in his life and felt the same way the more games he attended and interactions he had with players and coaches.

“Ever since then, I just haven’t turned back,” Miller said.

Lochridge couldn’t be happier.

Or prouder.

“It’s amazing. To see him grow from a freshman who couldn’t tape an ankle to a college graduate working in professional sports is just an absolute blessing,” he said. “I just hope he goes a lot further and farther than I ever did. He’s definitely well on his way.”