Parker Adams is this year’s winner of this prestigious award

Male Athlete of the Year Parker Adams is this year’s winner of this prestigious award ne of the requirements of being eligible for the BFS High School Male Athlete of the Year award is being a good student as well as a great athlete. Parker Adams is great in both, excelling in multiple sports and achieving the second-highest GPA Owon numerous academic awards.

To name a few, he won the Outstanding Student Award in Precalculus and American Government, the Early County Historical Society Scholarship Award, the Scott Widener ScholarAthlete Award, and the Bank of Early Athletically, Parker was the Region 3-AA Basketball Player of the Year; he played in two all-star basketball games and scored over 1,000 points in his career. He was all-region in GISA baseball, region champion in the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles at the Region “Parker Adams is by far the best student-athlete I have ever worked with in my years of coaching.” ³+HDGEDVNHWEDOOFRDFK'DYLG%\UQH (4.184) in his class. This is his story.

This year Parker graduated from Southwest Georgia Academy (SGA) in Damascus, Georgia. He was the president of the senior class and County Scholar-Athlete Award. The culmination of these academic accomplishments was receiving a full academic scholarship to Troy University in Troy, Alabama.

3-AA track meet. And to top it off, he received the BFS “Bulletproof” Award by attending the most BFS workouts in the summer of 2010. “Parker is an outstanding young Head basketball coach David Byrne watched Parker’s hard work on and off the court pay off with a high school career total of over 1,000 points.

Parker is a multisport athlete who excels not just in basketball but also in track and baseball. man,” says Beau Johnson, a BFS clinician and former coach at SGA. “He worked hard and got respectable numbers for his body type. He is exactly who we are talking about when we talk about the Be an 11 athlete. He’s an awesome kid with great personality who goes the extra mile to help classmates, teammates and faculty at SGA.” “Parker Adams is by far the best student-athlete I have ever worked with in my years of coaching,” says head basketball coach David Byrne, who started coaching at SGA when Parker was a freshman.

Byrne says that Parker was small and uncoordinated as a freshman and struggled on the court, scoring only three points for the year. But that picture soon changed. “That summer you could begin to see a change in his attitude. He began to spend more and more time at the gym.

By the summer after his sophomore year it was like we were looking at a new kid.” Byrne says Parker never missed a workout in two summers, and he always made sure his teammates were making their lifts as well. “He led by example on and off the court every single day. Everyone on the team looked to Parker for advice and leadership, and he took on the role without a complaint. When things were going bad, I never had to worry about talking to the guys about it because I knew that Parker was going to handle it. He would gather the guys before practice and discuss what was going on.

While I was having the girls practice before the boys practiced, Parker would have the guys in the locker room watching game film on the next team. Not once did I ask him to do these types of things – he just did them because that was the type of player and teammate he was.” Byrne says an example of how much the players wanted to play well for Parker occurred during their last regular home game. They were up against the first-place team in their region, and the game was tied with less than six seconds to play. Says Byrne, “Parker missed a jump shot, and junior Dillon Driver tipped the ball in as the horn sounded.

When Dillon was interviewed about his game-winning shot, all Dillon could say was he was glad that he was the one who could hit the shot that allowed Parker to win the last home game in his career. Everyone just wanted to do good for Parker because they knew how much he put into it. The hours he spent in the gym just shooting by himself on weekends showed his commitment.”

Parker comes from an athletic and supportive family. Shown above with Parker are his dad, Randy; and mother, Alice.

A Winning Environment SGA is a K3-12 school, with the elementary and middle schools located on one campus. Parker’s mother, Alice Adams, says that the school is family oriented, and that Parker started at K4. As such, she says, Parker and his friends have stayed together and have become a close group. “I think this type of environment has helped to create some accountability. Everybody knows each other, and the teachers talk to the students like your mama would.” Alice says Parker has always been smart. “He’s loved to read since he was a little boy, and I think that probably sparked a lot of his love of learning.

Once at a parent-teacher conference, his teacher told me he was a great student; she only had one problem with Parker – when he finishes his work, he pulls out a book and starts reading and doesn’t want to stop. I think his love of reading is what has helped him retain information.” Parker’s mother played softball and volleyball and was a cheerleader; his dad played basketball and ran track, and his brother is a freshman who plays basketball and runs track. At Troy, Parker is currently undecided about a major but is looking into marine biology and criminal justice, and is considering the Coast Guard after graduation. Says Alice, “He loves the ocean.”

Alice says they had no concerns about Parker lifting weights at a young age. “Coach Johnson is BFS certified, so we knew it wasn’t just someone coming in and setting up a weight program for kids. He knew what kids at certain ages needed to do. They worked with him and ensured it was a safe environment. In fact, because the program has been so successful, they raised money and built a bigger, better weightroom.” Parker Adams is the 2011 BFS High School Male Athlete of the Year. After getting to know Parker, we know it was a smart choice. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 'LPHQVLRQVIW[IW[LQ &XVWRP/RJR Elite Power Clean Platform Delivers The Stability and durability To push TO YOUR MAX!

X&XVWRPL]DEOH/RJRVDQG3DLQW&DOOIRUGHWDLOVDQGSULFLQJ X)HDWXUHV3URWHFW$OOŒORQJODVWLQJYLQ\OVXUIDFH X1RZDUSLQJ1RZRRG6ROLGUXEEHU1RQVOLS X2XUPRVWSRSXODUSRZHUFOHDQSODWIRUP Varsity Power Clean Platform X$QDIIRUGDEOHSODWIRUP IRU\HDUVRIUHOLDEOHXVH NOW ONLY LQFKHVRIVROLGUXEEHU \HDUZDUUDQW\ 'LPHQVLRQVIW[IW[LQ DEDICATED TO HELPING ATHLETES SUCCEED SINCE 1976

From BFS Magazine — September/October 2011. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).