Michael Parks stepped down Monday as coach of the Apalachee High School Lady Wildcats basketball program as he looked to move into new areas of education.
Parks, who told me Sunday he would like to work in the administrative side of his profession, accomplished a great deal during his time with the Lady Wildcats. The team established a mark for most wins in a season under Parks’ guidance and also came close to reaching the state tournament for the first time in program history a season ago.
Through it all, Parks has conducted himself as a true professional. Whether his team won by 30 or lost by 30, Parks was always able to keep things in perspective. He constantly praised his players and never took the route of blaming them when things may have gone wrong on the court.
His desire to work in the administrative side of education is one which will benefit a greater amount of students. No doubt he will bring the same desire to this new challenge.
From a personal standpoint, I’ll miss the talks I’ve had with Coach Parks. It goes beyond asking him how his team performed in a particular game. It goes beyond getting comments about a player for a feature story I may have been working on.
Parks and I often talked well past the basketball part of our conversation. Topics of work, family and even a touch of Barrow County politics would often creep into our late Sunday evening discussions.
In addition, Parks offered me a first-hand look into the inner workings of being a high school coach. The rewards, the frustrations and how, at times, it becomes trying. It’s like any profession. We used each other as a sounding board for a variety of subjects and I trust that will be able to continue, even though he will no longer be directing the Lady Wildcats.
In theory, objectivity is the name of the game for me. It’s not supposed to matter whether the team you are covering wins or loses. You are simply there to report it. In theory, that’s the way it’s supposed to work.
However, I’ve always felt a different approach was needed when covering sports at the high school level.
At this level of the game, coaches so often go beyond the call of duty in many areas. One of those areas for Parks has been assisting me with coverage of his team.
With the many hats I wear at our paper, it’s not possible to be at every game, night in and night out. Parks understood this and was always willing to help with anything I might need. When it came to Parks, no phone call went unreturned and no email sent was met with a non-response.
Information was relayed often while a sick baby was being dealt with or while he was in the car on the way to a family function. When a coach is willing to go to these lengths to promote his program and players, it’s hard not to want him to do well, objectivity aside.
I wish Parks well in whatever path he ends up on. Things always change with time. Coaches arrive at a school and coaches eventually move on.
Yet, it’s still tough when the good ones decide to move on. Parks, without a doubt, has been a good one for AHS.
Chris Bridges is sports editor of the Barrow Journal. You can reach him at cbridges@barrowjournal.com.
