By Alice Williams

COURTLAND

Southampton County Public Schools has begun a new era in football naming Southampton High School alum Travis Parker as head football coach.

Parker has a long history of working with football and the youth of Southampton County and the surrounding communities. He has been an assistant football coach for a total of 22 years, with 12 years in Southampton County and 10 years in the City of Franklin.

During his tenure as an assistant coach, Parker served under the leadership of established high school football coaches Littleton Parker, formerly SHS’s head football coach, and Darren Parker, former head coach at Franklin High School and also Parker’s brother.

In addition to taking the helm at Southampton High School, Parker serves the youth of the area as the director of the Upward Bound program. Upward Bound focuses on assisting students to attend and graduate from college. He is also the founder of Coach P, LLC, an organization whose mission is “to inspire, influence and instruct people to locate their potential, and be positive, process-oriented and purposeful.”

Parker brings a positive mindset and high expectations for the upcoming 2019 season to the Southampton High School Indians. He passionately believes, “You MUST grow yourself in order to grow others. Therefore, personal growth and becoming an effective leader in life is paramount.”

Parker is an active member of his church and in his community. He is the eldest son of Oliver and Alice Parker. He and wife Deborah have two children, Jade and Eric.

ALICE WILLIAMS is a spokeswoman for Southampton County Public Schools.