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RMHS graduate Brandon Millett (‘87) is turning the life story of former RMHS teacher and legendary track coach Hal Croft into a documentary that is set to release early in 2024.
Millett, an award-winning writer and producer, and founder of Constant Motion, Inc., called up Croft, his former teacher and track coach, asking if he would trust him to tell his unique and inspiring story. Millett knew this story had to be shared with the world once he heard about Croft’s wartime heroics in Vietnam.
Croft is one of a kind. He’s a decorated Veteran who earned a silver and bronze star for his courageous actions in combat during the Vietnam War. As a result of his wartime service, Croft is a victim of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. His perseverance and experience with PTSD is highlighted in the documentary.
Croft came to RMHS and took a track program that had gone 0-9 the season prior to his arrival to a program that just one season later would go on to start the epic winning streak of Reading track that continued for the next 29 years. I think it’s a great lesson for people that healing and learning doesn’t stop when you graduate from high school… — Brandon Millett
Millett hopes viewers can learn a lot from the documentary. “I hope that they learn some of the lessons or ‘Croftisms’ that all of us who got to run for him or learn from him, became familiar with during our time at RMHS. And so things like grace under pressure and things like perseverance in difficult circumstances, things like, you know, everybody can contribute, that the team matters more than the individual.”
A specific story Millett recalled about Croft was from his senior year of high school. Millett had set up a meeting with Croft to tell him that he decided he was not going to run spring track. “What he said in that meeting was, look, you can play tennis the rest of your life and have fun. But how often are you going to be able to be part of something so special like this, and at the time, the winning streak that Reading had, the undefeated streak, was probably about 16 years old.” Millett decided to continue with track.
He described Croft as “a master motivator” who could “reach anybody, you know, it didn’t matter, their background or their skill level. And so for me, you know, he taught me how to persevere through difficult times.” As a result, Millett recalls that in his RMHS yearbook, he listed Croft as his “absolute favorite teacher.”
Millett got into the filmmaking business about fifteen years ago. He and his wife started the GI film festival. This festival was eventually acquired by PBS which left Millett looking for his next adventure. This is when he decided he wanted to get into storytelling. Millett shared some advice for anyone who is looking to enter the filmmaking industry. “Don’t wait for permission, start making films.” He concluded, “The best way you can learn is just by grabbing a camera, getting out there and starting to tell some stories.”
Millett said he hopes viewers take away from the film, “It’s never too late to heal and to evolve.” Croft is still continuing to seek treatment in order to confront his PTSD even at 80 years old. He explains, “I think it’s a great lesson for people that healing and learning doesn’t stop when you graduate from high school, it continues for the rest of your life.”
To learn more about the Hal Croft Film visit: https://halcroftfilm.com/ .
