Brandon Parker: Princess Anne’s High Energy Juggler
Brandon Parker, senior soccer standout at Princess Anne High School, has his hands full, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. One of the team’s captains and an outstanding student with serious career goals, he knows that now is not the time to take life easy.
Brandon is a student in the International Baccalaureate Program, a highly selective program that tests its members with high standards and tough teachers. Mountains of homework are standard procedure for these highly motivated youngsters, so playing a sport really tests a person’s time management skills and physical stamina. Parker has been running at this breakneck pace for nearly four years now.
He somehow manages to blend his rigorous study habits with participation in three varsity sports. In addition to soccer, Brandon also runs cross country and competes in both sides of the swimming/diving team. As a captain for both squads, he is exceptionally proud of the strong season enjoyed by the harriers. The swimming team finished second in the Beach District for the regular season, and placed third in the season-ending Beach Championship meet, where he contributed in the 100 meter freestyle and backstroke.
Of the three sports, though, soccer remains the one closest to his heart. He has played the game since he was five, and participated for three years at the Kemps Landing Magnet School before selecting Princess Anne for high school. “I love them all”, he said during an interview, “but I’m naturally more of a team player, and soccer satisfies that part of me more than running or swimming and diving.”
BK Brinkley, his soccer coach at Princess Anne, can understand Parker’s affection for the sport. “He is clearly one of the fastest players on the team,” he said, “but that isn’t necessarily his greatest strength. It’s his foot speed combined with his ball skills that set him apart and make him such a tough defender. Not only is he the first guy to the ball, but he knows what to do with it once he gets there. He is a genuine impact player whenever he’s on the field.”
Brandon believes that his most memorable moment on a soccer field came when he was a sophomore. “We were playing Indian River and had fallen behind in the game,” he recalled. “But we pulled together as a team, closed the gap to finally tie the score, and my good friend Tony Nweke scored the winning goal. It was an awesome moment.”
His interests go far beyond the confines of the athletic field, however. The son of a Navy Command Master Chief, Brandon applied for admission to Penn State, the University of Virginia, and St. Joseph’s in Philadelphia, but his ambitions will take him elsewhere. Instead of the regular college atmosphere, he will accept an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he reports for induction on 29 June.
Although he wasn’t recruited by the Academy to play soccer, he isn’t disappointed because the service academy opportunity will fulfill more profound desires. “I’ve always wanted to fly,” he said, “I like the idea of doing something different and, most importantly, I want to serve my country.” He hopes to major in biology at Colorado Springs, and perhaps pursue a career in medicine someday, “once I’ve had my fill of flying fighter jets,” he added with a smile.
He is also an accomplished musician who plays the viola for the school chamber orchestra, entertains the elderly at nursing homes with a group called The Phoenix Quartet, and considers the late Ronald Reagan as his role model. “He was an athlete, a movie star, and the President of the United States,” he said. “What young person wouldn’t look up to someone like that?” However, he gives the lion’s share of credit for his success to his parents.
“Dad gave me the structure and discipline, Mom always pushed me to be my very best at anything I tried, and growing up with two sisters when my Dad was away kind of made me feel like the man of the house while I was still very young. I’m lucky to have such a great family,” he added. “There’s no way I’d be where I am today without them all.”
