Harrison Central Softball Coach Jimmy Parker discusses recent success
What a month it has been for Harrison Central Softball Coach Jimmy Parker after being inducted into the Gulfport Sports Hall of Fame and being named the National Coach of the Year.
The Harrison Central softball team is known for making noise and their success in the postseason, but every team has its leader and in this case that leader is Jimmy Parker. “First game I saw, real game…was the first game I coached in. It’s come a long way; I mean the sport has really grown and that makes me proud to know I was there at the beginning.”
Coach Parker is all about his team and the program Harrison Central softball is, but he was thankful that the award allowed him to reflect on his career. “Teamwise it’s hard to beat some of the teams I’ve had and the things we’ve been through, but as far as individual stuff, yeah… I’ve always been more about the program and the team, but it’s nice to be rewarded.”
But the team and the program are exactly who Parker says he owed all his success and achievements to. “I got that, I got to the Hall of Fame and I got the National Coach of the Year because of players and my assistant coaches and you know some great parents down through the years, the booster club supporting us and administrators. It’s a lot of people that helped me win these awards.”
Out of 51 nominees and then eight finalists, Coach Parker was more than surprised that he was selected as the National Coach of the Year. “I never expected, there was some awesome people amongst the eight and they called my name. It was a shock. It was emotional, almost between a really happy and almost a cry… a happy cry, you know. My wife and my daughter, I think they did cry.”
More than anything, Coach Parker gives credit to the players and staff that trusted him to lead them to success. “I’ve been blessed with kids that would jump through fire hoops for me. And, because I think they knew we cared as coaches and they bought into our program, bought into our system, and just a lot of emotions run through my mind and a lot of that was just the kids and the assistant coaches… I knew walking up those stairs that they were the reason I was there.”
Just because he has received all these great honors, does not mean he is finished yet. You can catch Coach Parker and the Red Rebelettes this coming spring.
