Stepping into a new role

By BEN TRITTIPOE For the News & Messenger
Published: March 20, 2008

Over the past three seasons, Hylton forward Crissy Parker has been a “quiet assassin,” establishing herself as one of the top scoring threats in Prince William County with 45 goals and 18 assists.

This season, Parker is taking on an additional role: vocal leader.

As a senior on a Hylton girls soccer team with more than half the squad new to the varsity level, including nine freshmen, the once reticent Parker is embracing her role as team leader and looks to lead the Bulldogs to a Cardinal District championship.

“Crissy generally has a shy personality, and in the past, I think she shied away from being a vocal leader,” Hylton head coach Lauren Brundage said. “But she’s always been a leader on the field for us. Before this season, I approached her to ask if she wanted to be a captain. She said she definitely did, and she has easily stepped into that role for us.”

“I’m trying to step up to the plate and be a leader,” Parker said. “This is a young team and since I’ve been here longer, I’m trying to show them how things are done. We’ve been third in the district the last few years, and I want to win a championship. We’ve got a good group of girls and I’m excited about our chances to do well.”

Parker certainly is a good one to learn from. A three-time all-district selection, she has been a starter at forward for the Bulldogs since her freshman year.

Parker had 11 goals as a freshman, improved that total to 19 as a sophomore and contributed 15 goals and a career-high nine assists last season as a junior.

With the youth on the Bulldogs, Brundage is relying on Parker to take players under her wing and teach them the Hylton way to play.

“One of the challenges facing our team this season is learning each other’s playing style,” Brundage said. “Crissy has been great at working with the other players. Every time that I send her a different person to work with at forward, she does her best to bring that player up to her level.”

“I like talking and making sure everybody else sees what I see,” Parker said. “I also like working with new people, and most of them have not played forward before. It’s fun learning how they work up front so we can work well together.”

Parker has already committed to attending nearby George Mason University after graduation, but her path to a spot on the pitch with the Patriots will take a slightly different route.

Parker plans to attend Northern Virginia Community College this fall before enrolling at Mason in January 2009.

“I just want to be able to get a feel for college before I take on the pressure of playing college soccer,” Parker said. “But I’m excited to go there. It’s close to home, and I didn’t want to go too far away. It seemed like a good place for me.”