1995 LOS ANGELES TIMES : All-Valley Softball Team : Coach of the Year : Parker, Kranz Dominated

Parker in the Shadow of His Daughter

Behind the headlines of his daughter’s no-hitters, perfect games and hundreds of strikeouts, Tom Parker quietly coached the La Canada High softball team to a Southern Section Division IV championship this season.

Certainly, senior pitcher Lindsay Parker was the star of the Spartans. But as Tom Parker--call him the director--noted, “We had enough good kids around Lindsay to win a championship.”

The Spartans also had a more-than-competent coach.

In three seasons, Parker has compiled a 64-10 record, leading La Canada to three Rio Hondo League championships and two trips to the section final.

Having Lindsay on the team not only made Parker’s job easier but a lot more enjoyable.

“I certainly would not have taken a job somewhere else when my daughter was at La Canada,” Parker said.

For the record, Parker’s winning percentage of .864 as a coach is higher than that of his daughter, who compiled a four-year record of 73-12 (.858).