What makes a Parker Colonel? Is it merely a title given for showing up to school? Or is it more than that: a mark of hours spent in practices and games, a right to march in the Homecoming parade, and to be applauded by fellow students? Students who participate in Parker athletics have different experiences from those who don’t. It’s the difference between meeting peers during pre-season three weeks before school starts and entering after those connections have been made. Between an automatic hour-long break and a half-hour of exercise three times a cycle.
Choosing to partake in Parker athletics or not can affect one’s experience as a student, so what happens to those who choose a sport outside of Parker? Students who reside on the line between being a Parker student and being a Parker athlete hold a unique experience, one that has advantages and disadvantages in the social and athletic spheres in the Parker community.
This year marks the second year since independent and out-of-Parker athletes have been removed from the homecoming parade. Every fall sports team at Parker marches around the school holding a banner with their respective sport’s name on it and gets cheered on by their classmates and faculty while the drumline plays. For years, one banner said “Independent Sports,” until two parades ago.
“We’re … being really selective of who gets celebrated and who doesn’t get celebrated,” senior Charlotte Paul said, who’s been rowing outside of Parker for over three years. “I don’t know why you wouldn’t take it as an opportunity to celebrate everyone playing a sport,” she said. “It just seems like a missed opportunity.”
Fellow rower and Parker junior Barron Lewis, who has been participating in the sport for three years, reciprocated the sentiment. “I think that all out-of-school sports should be valued, and I don’t truly believe it’s fair that we don’t get to be represented in the march,” Lewis said.
However, some athletes aren’t in full agreement with the idea of returning to a public parade, seeking something more discreet. “Personally, I’m not a huge fan of attention being on me, so I would prefer social media rather than actually walking in a parade,” karate student of twelve years, archer of five, and junior Josephine McCloskey said.
While the parade is meant to celebrate Parker’s athletes, that kind of public celebration may not be what independent athletes need. “I don’t do sports outside of school to get recognition for them,” Paul said.
Another aspect of the independent athlete experience is the social connections built in and outside of practices. McCloskey began her time at Parker running cross country during her freshman and sophomore years, a move she says helped her acclimate more to the school. “The reason I started cross country, … [was] so that I could get to know the school a bit better and know some of the people who are already going here,” she said, “[and] after doing it for two years, I do feel like I’ve made friends that are in different grades because of it, and I don’t think that friendship is gone because I have stopped doing the sport.”
Lewis, who also came to Parker freshman year, views participating in a sport outside of Parker as a disadvantage. “It’s definitely tough, especially after school, having to go to rowing a couple miles away,” he said. Physical separation adds to the disconnect between in-school and out-of-school athletes. “There’s just a lot of bonding you can do in terms of school sports,” said Lewis. For those who have already acclimated to the Parker community, school sports may not be necessary for socialization. “Some of my closest friends here don’t do Parker sports, but the ones that do don’t make it their whole personalities,” said Paul, who joined Parker before freshman year.
“The Record” keeps a page every year for independent athletes, and while there could be more done to recognize these students, some argue that would prove difficult. “I don’t know how we could recognize a group of people because we do so many different things,” Paul said. “I’m not complaining, like there’s so much that is happening at Parker … it’s not something that needs to be their top priority.”
Celebration, or lack thereof when talking about in-school and out-of-school athletes, may not need to be completely equitable. “I think no one should be celebrated more than the other,” Lewis said. “It doesn’t have to be insane, where you’re suffocating, but there should be consistent representation of out-of-school athletes.” Recognition could hold the key to lifting fellow Colonels up, whether or not they participate in Parker athletics.
“I don’t think anyone really knows what I do, so they don’t really care,” McCloskey said.
