Jackson softball coach Adam Parker instills lifelong lessons
MASSILLON, Ohio — Viewing the world from a different perspective is what Jackson High School’s first-year softball coach Adam Parker will offer his players.
Parker is not your typical coach – he sports an overgrown, long beard; and, amongst other activities, does yoga with the team during preseason workouts. Examining Parker at a closer look is his approach to coaching more Zen, mental health, or just putting a different lens on coaching.
“The beard is a topic of conversation often,” wrote Parker, who is the youth markets director for the American Heart Association. His job is to work with schools in a 15-county area to provide healthy heart education and fundraising events. “I wouldn’t say it is a Zen approach, but I was diagnosed with genetic heart disease and defect in 2017 and spent multiple stays in the hospital and a plethora of doctors’ appointments to solve the issues. During one of the longer stays in the hospital I lost the ability to control the outcomes in my life. All of the decisions were left to God and the doctors around me, and the one simple thing that I had a say in was if I shaved it or not. It became a comfort to me that I had that decision and probably a little annoyance to my wife. The long beard has become a staple in my life that allows me to be reminded of we have options and to embrace the choices of each day.”
Working out with the team:
“My actual motivation of participating has been changed since we started,” wrote Parker, who is married to his wife of 10 years, Amanda. They have two French bulldogs and a lab. “At first, it was to provide yoga sessions to increase the players’ health. Since that first session, now I also want to show the players that I am willing to lead by example and put myself into uncomfortable positions (metaphorically and literally) for the sake of the team and success. Not to mention, I feel so much better on Saturday mornings.”
In turn, Parker is demonstrating good self-care techniques and life-long learning strategies for his team.
“Being a life-long learner is so valuable to the development of these young women, and I hope that our coaching staff will instill lessons they can lean on later in life,” wrote Parker, who graduated from Tuslaw High School and went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in communications from John Carroll University, where he played baseball, and his master’s degree in business administration from Ashland University. “Yoga and exercise in a positive light are one of the things we are trying to leave with them. We have a philosophy to eliminate/limit the consequences of mistakes to exercise and running. The negative connotation of exercise as a punishment can carry lifelong consequences, and our objectives are to empower our players to enjoy improving their health.”
Parker wrote yoga is every Friday. Parker instituted yoga because he noticed overuse injuries in young female athletes. He hopes in these Friday yoga sessions that the team increases flexibility, stabilization, and core strength while decreasing the injury rates of our players. He continued to say that on lift and sprint days, the coaches have asked a lot of the players in ways of getting stronger and faster, which puts a ton of stress on the body, not to mention the work that these players are doing with their own private instructors. “Body care in athletics is often overlooked, and we have used Friday as a way to take care of ourselves mentally and physically.”
“I believe in utilizing visualization in softball and having the vision to see what success looks like and how to let go of failure and learn from it. We have begun to learn the importance of taking a few moments out of the week to recognize our successes and failures both in softball and life. It has not come overnight. When we first started, we had a lot of giggles and embarrassment of people and other teams walking through our sessions, but as the weeks have progressed, our players have begun to improve on our focus and the benefits of the yoga sessions.”
Team outlook:
This year, the Polar Bears have four senior players:
Chloe Christensen is not only steady on the field and at the plate but leads the team in study tables and is a resource for her teammates when they need support. Ashley Hauritz is the team’s vocal leader who leads with encouragement and organization. She has a fire in her play that overtakes her vocal leadership. Aubree Snow has great athletic ability on the field, but her quiet nature leads the team to its time to listen and work. Julia Gossett, who will continue playing softball at Purdue University, leads by example in all aspects, and she inspires consistency in all aspects of the game.
“I cannot give the senior class enough credit for the grace and dedication they have shown me in a short time so far,” concluded Parker.
In the span of a lifetime, high school athletics is a short chapter in each player’s story. Parker is instilling lifelong lessons that can be part of many chapters in the athlete’s completed book.
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