From Coach Parkey:
It has been an honor, a privilege and a pleasure to serve Rockcastle County and RCHS as Head Football Coach for the past 14 years. I have coached the incredible game of football in this county at the Youth League, the Middle School, and the High School levels for a total of 27 years. Throughout those years, I have been able to meet, work, and grow together with countless members of the community. Those ties, bonds, and friendships are genuinely special and long lasting.
The timing and fashion surrounding the end of my career here was not under the circ*mstances my family and I would have imagined or ever dreamed of after all the years of service. It has seemed to us as sudden, impersonal, and more vague than we would have expected. This job was more than a job for us. Simply stated, Kristy and I, along with our sons Noah and Rex, lived the role by focusing on serving and bettering the youth of Rockcastle County, one team at a time. Many times, it required more sacrifice of family than I should have asked. But, with all gratitude to Kristy, she kept us grounded and focused. I respect the decision and we will move on through our wonderful lives together.
I have always coached by placing the best interest of our individual players first. Some may see that as soft, or unlike how football should be taught, or not the best way. But to me, creating a locker room culture where players feel comfortable, safe to be themselves, and welcomed to grow as young men is the best way. Football is a game that a small percentage of boys choose. It is extremely hard, both physically and mentally. When coupled with varying home situations, today’s High School football players face an extraordinary amount of issues, difficulties, and hardships. My coaching staffs have done our best to create an environment where relationships are paramount to success. We believe in creating expectations of discipline in our team to accomplish our goals. Discipline meaning having the mental, emotional, and physical toughness to break through adversities in life and on the field to be successful. Our individual players and overall teams have thrived on and off the field, while in high school, and after graduation.
I have been genuinely blessed to honor 133 players on Senior Nights at The Rock. I have done my best to keep up with each of them as they journey through life. I consider each one special to me and my family. Guys have chosen college, specialized trade schools, work, entrepreneurship, and the military. Many have wives and families of their own. I am very proud that I can honestly say our guys are successful and responsible men.
Coaching High School football is not ALL about wins and losses. I realize our world emphasizes and uses this as a way to measure and compare. That’s fair, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. We won our fair share of games. We won games we had no business winning, and we lost a few we probably shouldn’t have lost. While looking at the variables involved, as coaches do, I can say our Coaching Staffs and Teams were always competitive, they played above their natural physical ability, and they did it the RIGHT way. They did this by playing with Pride from the heart because it meant more than the guys across from them. They played unselfishly, holding their teammates, families, school, and county above their own interests. The characteristic of doing something for a cause bigger than yourself is a basic tenant to the game of football. Our teams have exemplified this year after year. Sure, I wish we could have brought home state championship hardware every year, but that just wasn’t meant to be. We strived to be better than we were the week before, focusing only on where our feet are at that time. And our teams were.
One of the most amazing things about my journey was being able to coach alongside so many great men. Men who genuinely valued the opportunity to help mold young guys into respected men through the game of football. These men exhibited character and strong moral codes that they were able to pass on through their coaching. We were able to have the players to believe in their abilities and to push beyond their mind’s boundary for potential, creating new ceilings for opportunity. When these players and even entire teams made these breakthroughs, they realized there was no struggle too difficult for them to attack. That is in direct contrast to today’s societal affirmations that if a task seems too hard, then do not try, so you will not fail. Our coaches have been able to teach players through adversity, through the pain and shame of failing to win the next opportunity. That is what High School football is all about.
My job was not about only the high school team. A major responsibility and one I truly loved, was to have a major influence on the Rockcastle Youth Football League and the Middle School program. Through our time the last 14 years, we have been able to restructure, re-create, and evolve through time as the game of football, schools, and kids have rapidly changed. The total program of Rockcastle Football is better now than ever. It can, and will continue to improve and evolve with new support, new ideas, and new opportunities. The focus for our young teams must always continue to be on ALL the kids, their development athletically, and their social and emotional development rather than on simply wins and losses.
In closing, the ending of this chapter has been difficult for me. However, the amount of hurt that is residually created for my family is quite contrasting to my personal feelings, and much more substantial. The difficulty lies in knowing what comes next, and things as simple as how it will feel at a Friday night game. As we process through this, we will definitely come out the other side as different people. We know that through our “struggles, comes perseverance, and through perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” Rom 5
Thank you to all the Players and Coaches. Go Rock!!!
