Trading the bar for the board

There was a time when he measured competition in inches, launching himself into the air and clearing the bar as a high jumper.

These days, the runway is shorter. The bar is gone. And the competition looks a little different.

Now, he stands at the edge of a cornhole board, a bean bag in his hand, eyes fixed on the target. It’s quieter than the roar of a track meet, but no less serious.

He’s here to compete.

Anton Milavec is a native New Mexican, born in Carlsbad and raised in Silver City. He attended New Mexico State University, graduating in 1982, then went on to Creighton Dental School in Omaha, Nebraska, followed by three years in the Army.

Milavec has always been one to take on the next challenge—and to succeed. In high school, it was the jumping events on the track team. Now, while he still does some jumping, most of his competitive drive is focused on pitching bean bags.

“I did the high jump in high school and then I participated on the New Mexico State track team in the high jump for one year,” Milavec said.

That was in the 1970s and ’80s, when a strong high jump for him was six feet, two inches. More recently, he competed in the Doña Ana County Senior Olympics, clearing four feet, 11 inches—just shy of a good friend who won the event at five feet.

His wife, Jane, was already involved in the Senior Olympics and encouraged Milavec to join. He returned to the high jump in 2015 and held the state record for a couple of years until that same friend from Artesia knocked him off the top spot.

But the competitive drive hasn’t gone anywhere—even with a recent Parkinson’s diagnosis. Much of his Senior Olympics focus has now shifted to cornhole.

Parkinson’s disease has changed the way his body moves. It has taken some things, altered others. But it hasn’t taken the part of him that shows up, that prepares, that wants to test himself against the moment.

He just adjusted.

Part of that adjustment comes from habits he’s carried with him for years.

“Just trying to stay active and keep moving,” Milavec said. “My energy level has gone down, so I get fatigued a lot quicker than I used to.”

That, combined with the natural effects of aging, has changed the way he competes.

Where there was once explosive lift, there is now measured control. Where there was once a bar set at a specific height, there is now a small opening cut into a wooden board.

Different demands. Same focus.

Jane had competed in events like the frisbee throw and soccer kick before the two began competing together in cornhole.

Milavec has essentially traded one form of competition for another — not because it’s easier, but because it’s still possible.

And for him, possible is enough.

It’s easy to see the contrast between the athlete he was and the athlete he is now, but that’s not how he sees it. To him, it’s simple: he’s still competing. Still showing up. Still finding a way.

He’s also still finding new sources of motivation. Adam is one of them.

“He’s really good and he usually takes first place in cornhole at state,” Milavec said. “He's inspired me to try to keep up with him, so I've been practicing a little bit every day.”

Some things haven’t changed at all. The work still comes down to repetition—training the body to do the same thing over and over.

“I think it's just getting muscle memory,” Milavec said. “Playing enough that you can kind of get a feel of the distance and the accuracy and for your swing to be consistent. The main thing is being consistent and not be off one throw and then on the next throw. You try to be very consistent where you throw in the same spot every time.”

There’s a rhythm to cornhole, a balance between touch and timing, between patience and precision. It’s not the same rhythm as the high jump, but it’s one he’s learned to trust.

And on any given day, standing on that court, he’s not thinking about what’s been lost. He’s thinking about the next throw, the next point, the next chance to compete.

The camaraderie of Senior Olympics competition is also a big part of it. It’s about getting out, staying active, and continuing to move forward—something that helps with his Parkinson’s as much as it feeds his competitive spirit.

One thing that hasn’t changed is his desire to compete, and to win.

“I think I prefer the cornhole because I can be more competitive,” Milavec said. “I'm not very competitive in the high jump anymore but I still enjoy it.”

In the end, that’s what has stayed constant through all of it—not the event, not the movement, not even the body.

Just the will to keep going.