JJC Softball Player of the Year: A tough 'Bird

Brittany Parks first started playing softball when she was 5 years old. About that same time, she was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes.

Parks, a Virginia/A-C Central shortstop who hit an area-high .541 this season, is insulin dependent, requiring four shots a day.

“It’s hard sometimes, but I’m used to it now,” she says.

Living with diabetes conditioned her to meet many of life’s challenges, but it did little to prepare her for the news she received this winter. During the second month of the basketball season, Parks learned that her father had esophageal cancer and required surgery.

The news made Parks think about her priorities. She wanted to sit out the softball season, before her parents, Jim and Mary Parks, urged her to reconsider.

“I wanted to sit out to help my dad and my mom, because I’m the only one who still lives at home,” said Parks, who has two older sisters. “It would have been tough, but I was willing to do it for my dad and my mom.”

Instead, Parks went ahead and played for the Lady Redbirds this spring, and turned in one of the most impressive seasons in recent memory.
Parks led area players in hits (52), extra-base hits (21) and batting average. She batted third in the area’s best lineup, and led her team to a school-record 29 wins and a super-sectional berth.

She used her father’s illness as motivation.

“My dad’s sickness definitely made me stronger,” Parks said. “To do it for him, you know, that was my motivation.”

Parks is the Journal-Courier’s Softball Player of the Year.

“She’s had to go through so much and it’s good that she continued to play softball, because that’s what her dad and her family would want her to do,” said teammate Megan Bergerud. “It had to have been hard to do, and she’s a strong person for that.”

Virginia coach Ty Gebhardt met with Parks while she considered whether or not she was going to play this year. He reiterated what her parents told her.

“I talked to her about the situation and how her mom and dad would want her to play,” the coach said. “She’s been through a tough time, and having the year she did, you know she’s a very special player, anytime you can perform with all that going on.”

When she was on the field, an outsider would have never known the slick-fielding shortstop was dealing with so much away from the field. “When she came to practice, or during a game, she’d be happy and she’d always have a smile on her face,” Gebhardt said. “You just can’t beat her personality.”

Parks would occasionally leave practice a little early to be with her parents. While her dad was in the hospital, she kept him up to date on the softball team’s progress.

The news seemed to cheer up Jim Parks.

“I think it did, because whenever he was in the hospital, he’d say ‘Hit a home run for me,’ or ‘Get a hit for me,’” Brittany recalled. “Then whenever I would get a hit that night, I would do it for my dad, and then I’d go home, and if I could go see him that night, I would be like, ‘Dad, I hit it.’ That kind of thing.”

Parks made a point of giving her teammates a lift as well. When one of the Lady Redbirds struck out or made an error, Parks was usually the one to provide a few words of encouragement.

“One thing that I like about Brittany was when I was down, she would always be there to give some advice. She never let anyone get down,” Bergerud said. “That’s what a leader does.”

Parks proved herself as the strongest hitter in Virginia’s lineup early in the season. The junior shortstop had 17 multi-hit games this year, including five in a row late in the regular season.

“I’ve never had a player that hits the way she does. We’ve had some that were pretty close, but she is just a pure hitter. She hardly ever strikes out, and she comes up with the big hit when we need it,” Gebhardt said. “She’s one of the most pure hitters I’ve ever coached.”

Parks is already looking forward to next season. Virginia will lose only three players from a team that went 29-5.

“I’m very hopeful,” Parks said. “I’m definitely excited about next season. I expect us to do as well, if not better than we did this year.”

Parks said her breakout season wouldn’t have been possible without the help of her teammates and coaches. She said having that extra motivation played as big a role as anything else.

“I was excited, because I don’t think I have ever done so well,” she said. “But I wasn’t doing it for me. I was doing it for my dad and my mom, and my team.”