Parker’s progressive philosophy focuses on the “whole child,” a student who is nurtured in academics, advisory, and athletics. At a small school that doesn’t recruit athletes, Athletic Director Bobby Starks looks for coaches with expertise in every part of the child. Starks searches, externally and internally, for coaches to fill the regular vacancies in his department that can come up during or right before a season begins.

A few months before each season, Starks talks to coaches to see who will return and begins planning for vacancies. Starks needs a team of 38-40 coaches in the fall, 20-22 in the winter, and 28-30 in the spring. 

Typically, he makes about 4-10 new hires every season, primarily in the Middle School program. The Athletic Department posts these empty positions to the employment tab of the Parker website, as well as outside coaching associations and colleges.

Currently, Starks and the department have two applications posted to the Parker website – one for an Upper School Boys Basketball Assistant Coach and one seeking six new Middle School basketball coaches for the Middle School. The basketball season began on November 11, but the assistant coach position is still vacant after the departure of Head Coach Kevin Snider, whose spot was filled by former Assistant Coach Paul Samano.

At the bottom of each application, the department includes quotes from the school’s mission. “We’re looking for coaches to not only have the sports knowledge and skills and be able to coach the X’s and O’s of the sport,” Starks said, “but we want them additionally to have the same values and alignment as our values.”

Upper School Cross Country and Track and Field Head Coach Minnie Skakun agrees. “Your expertise matters, especially at the high school level where students are running against the best in Illinois,” Skaun said. “Your enthusiasm matters just as much, maybe more.” 

Starks cites cultural competence, a love for community, and a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion as key values for coaches.

“We’re evaluating our coaches throughout the season, as well as their formal evaluations at the end of the season,” Starks said. “We hear the feedback from our student athletes and parents as well. Through the evaluation process of all of the variables, we make the decision, so that they can continue or if we decide to move on.”

Outside of their philosophy, the availability of applicants is considered. Eighth Grade Assistant Teacher and Upper School Boys’ Soccer Assistant Coach Pattrick Stanton recalled that the majority of his interview, in 2014, was focused on the logistics of the positions. “Can I be at the practices? Can I be there on time?” Stanton said. “Do you understand that sometimes we’re taking a bus back from Elgin and you might not get home till 9pm?” 

Stanton became a boys’ soccer assistant coach through a connection to former Athletics Director Dawn Wickstrum. “With Dawn having already known me as a person, how I interact in public or just my general disposition, she was less concerned about certain things,” Stanton said. 

Stanton noted that Wickstrum also made sure he was aligned with the school’s mission. “As much as results at the high school level are great, there’s also the idea of not wavering from the school’s mindset of students first, athletes second,” Stanton said.

In contrast to Stanton, eight grade math teacher Tim O’Connor became a coach after being hired as a teacher. O’Connor had coached golf at a different school and asked Wickstrum to participate in Parker’s program.

 “At the time, there was a head coach who had been here for a few years,” O’Connor said. “We chatted on the phone and made sure that we got along, then the position was essentially mine.”

Skakun was hired in the fall of 2016 to be the head Coach for the middle school running program because of a connection with Parker faculty.

“Leslie Webster knew about my coaching and running,” Skakun said about upper school science teacher Leslie Webster, “and recommended me personally for the job to Mr. Starks.” Starks spoke with Webster and Director of Parker P.M. Stacie Newmark before interviewing Skakun with former Assistant Athletics Director Laura Gill and Operations and Substitute Coordinator Ellen Sandquist. 

Skakun was promoted to head coach after the departure of former Head Coach Caleb Flack. Starks often makes internal adjustments like these when there’s a sudden departure. “Due to the part time nature of the position,” Starks said, “we will always have some movement.” 

“In the past year we’ve had situations happen where coaches have decided to move on one way or the other,” Starks said. “It was very late and very close to the start of the season. When that happens, fortunately we look to the pipeline that we have of coaches internally.” 

Stanton was one of those coaches last year when he took over the Varsity Girls’ Soccer Team. Coming into the position with 12 days notice, Stanton told Starks that he wanted to have his coaches assembled from day one and was involved in their hiring process. “It’s hard to develop a team culture and then introduce a new body,” Stanton said.

O’Connor has had less influence over the hiring process for his assistant coaches. “Every year that I’ve been a head coach, I’ve had a different assistant coach,” O’Connor said. “That usually gets figured out right before the season starts, which can make planning or team organization a little bit challenging. I have pretty much complete autonomy over the way the season runs, my goals, practice setups, all of that is under my control.”

 Running a season like this is a large time commitment, one of the reasons for such high turnover. O’Connor estimated that he spends an average of 15 to 20 hours coaching for golf, mostly due to transportation time as all golf practices and games are off-campus.

Stanton spends around 23 hours a week on assistant coaching, an additional 11 to scheduled hours. “You throw in making rosters, communication with parents, and casual conversations with student athletes to make sure that they’re prepared.”

For Skakun, that time commitment is worth it. “I look forward to seeing my athletes every time I step into the building,” Skakun said. What my students are studying and their extracurricular activities are as important as the miles they run for me,” Skakun said. 

Stanton agreed.“Parker coaches need to know that results can sometimes come at the cost of the student athletes, what’s best for them,” Stanton said. “It’s better to come away from Parker athletics having grown as a young individual than it is with a state medal.”