End of an era, Parker stepping down as Liberty volleyball coach, moving to Virginia
Jun. 12—In her five full seasons as Liberty volleyball coach, Amy Parker definitely left her mark.
During her tenure, the Patriots captured the Central Section Division I championship, two section runner-ups and five Southwest Yosemite League titles.
Including a 7-0 record in this year's abbreviated season, Parker amassed a 131-43 overall record and guided Liberty to a 47-3 mark in SWYL play.
But the draw to be closer to her extended family, which includes her parents and brother, along with his children, Parker decided it is the right time to make a move. Following the completion of the club volleyball season, she plans to move to Fredericksburg, Va., located about 50 miles south of Washington D.C.
"There's nothing wrong with anyone in my family, I mean my parents are getting older and I think you just get to a point where you don't want to wait until you have to go there because something's wrong, so ...," said Parker, who is being replaced by former Frontier coach Morgan Dake next year. "I've spent every summer there the last eight summers, so I usually head that way after we get done with (the club season) and I'm there for about a month or so. I come back about a week before high school ball starts here."
Once Parker arrives at her destination, she says she doesn't have any specific plans, but one thing is for certain, it will involve coaching volleyball at some level.
"I'll continue to coach," Parker said. "I don't have anything firmly set up for high school, but the club scene is looking promising and I don't think that it will be difficult for me to get my foot in the door. I mean there may not be a high school opening right away, but I'll see if I can jump on somebody's staff and help them out for the high school season and see how that pans out from there."
Although Parker said there is never a good time to leave Liberty, she felt the timing was right after this season, a year that included just seven matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"You know I had my group this year, if we had played during the fall, we would have been playing with eight or nine seniors, four of which have been on varsity since they were freshmen," Parker said. "I mean this group has been looking forward to their senior year for a long time, and so have I obviously. We made it to the Valley final last year and they were hoping to have a second shot at it this year, but it didn't pan out that way.
"But you know, there was no way I was going to let those kids down and leave before their senior year was over. I feel like there's always going to be kids that you're connected to and you don't want to leave them hanging, but with that big of a group of seniors, I felt like it was a little bit easier than it would have been a year ago or two years ago."
Parker had originally planned to move back east in December, but when the pandemic delayed the start of the season, she decided to wait it out.
"So it was a decision that I was comfortable with, that I won't say I was 100 percent (sure about), but pretty close to (saying), 'alright, when this group is done, that's when it's time for me to go ahead and make the big move,'" Parker said. "It wasn't a regular league season. We played Centennial, Stockdale, we didn't have Frontier on our schedule, we played Independence, BHS.
"And I think when you know your season is five weeks long and you're going to play 10 matches, and you don't have playoffs, you come in with a different mentality than if you're starting in August and training to get your kids ready in November. Because in the regular season, our goal is to get ready in November. We don't have to be at our best in August."
With that in mind, Parker focused on living in the moment and enjoying her final experience with her players.
"And so with the short little five-week season, and we had two weeks of practice, you know I think for this group it was ... we had some challenges ... let's get in the gym, let's appreciate the fact that they get some sort of volleyball because for a long time there we didn't think we would," Parker said. "Let's just have fun. We've gotta have some fun."
As her time at Liberty comes to an end, Parker said she is thankful for the opportunity.
"Liberty, administratively they're super supportive and it's an amazing place to coach for six years," Parker said. "I was blessed to get the opportunity and blessed to have success there. It's a hard place to leave."
