Parker Resigns At Foster, Seeks Coach/Teacher Job

TUKWILA - The program could be winning, or waning. Tim Parker is primed for either challenge.

Parker, the highly successful girls basketball coach at Foster High School for most of the past two decades, wants a change. He has resigned his coaching duties and is searching for an area school with openings for both a head girls basketball coach and physical-education teacher.

That might be the biggest challenge of all.

"I'm pretty picky," Parker said, noting that P.E. jobs are hard to come by. "I know the field."

He also knows how to win. His 20-year record at Foster is 380-91, including a 21-4 campaign last season - his 13th 20-win season. Parker's teams have made 16 state appearances with 11 top-eight finishes.

Parker started the Foster girls basketball program in 1974-75 and it was his only losing season as the Bulldogs went 5-8 in the Class AA Seamount League.

"I'll never forget that year," he said. "I still think we might have had the best athletes that year that we've ever had. It was terrible coaching."

But the Bulldogs finished 12-6 the following year and by 1980 were in the Class AA state tournament, placing eighth. They eventually became a Class A power, winning back-to-back state titles in 1986 and '87.

Parker took a two-year hiatus from coaching in 1987-88 and 1988-89, citing a desire to spend more time with his own children. Foster failed to make the state tournament either year, the school's first misses since 1979. Parker returned for the 1989-90 season and the Bulldogs again became a state fixture.

Parker recently decided he was tired of being a fixture at Foster.

"I've been coaching here and teaching here for 25 years, 20 years as girls basketball coach," he said. "I've been around here forever, it seems. It's time for a change. I feel as though I'm at a deadend with what I can do with our program at this place.

"I'm really excited about other challenges, what might be next. I want to continue to grow professionally. I love basketball and I feel I can contribute a lot to girls basketball yet as a coach. I enjoy working with the girls and competing. There are opportunities out there, but I had to get out from under this (commitment) before I could be free and clear to look for other things."

Parker, 47, said he is in no real hurry. He is adamant about finding a teaching/coaching combination and will continue to teach at Foster next year if he doesn't find the right situation.

"I can't coach the way I need to from outside the building," he said. "I'll continue to teach at Foster until I find what I'm looking for. There are some opportunities. It's just a matter of things working out just right. I want to stay with it (coaching), because I really enjoy it."

Parker said he especially would like to coach at the Class AAA or AA level. Foster appears headed for Class AA competition in 1997-98, unless the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association decides to change the classification guidelines at its executive board meeting this weekend.

"A double-A or triple-A school would be great," Parker said. "I'd love that opportunity. I've got another 10 years (to coach) and I feel I can really help a program, maybe turn a program around, take it to a competitive level. That's what I'm looking forward to doing."

But he's not opposed to taking on a program that's already competitive.

"The challenge of keeping a program competitive, I'd love that, too," Parker said. "I've done that for 10 or 12 years. That's what I'm most proud of. Our program has been consistently state-competitive over the years, regardless of classification. We've played (and beaten) some really good double-A and triple-A teams over the years. We've been consistent."

He doesn't expect Foster to disappear next season, despite his absence. Three starters will return, including a pair of All-Nisqually League players, LaShaunda Fowler and Sherita Apodaca.

"I chose this year to step aside because it was the right time to do it," Parker said. "There's a good nucleus of kids back, really solid. Whoever follows me will be just fine without feeling a lot of pressure to just win, win, win, win."

Plus, whether Parker continues teaching there or not, he expects a P.E. position to be open because Karl Albrecht has said he plans to retire.

"With the combination of coach and P.E. teacher, the school will have an opportunity to hire a darn good coach," Parker said, adding he would like to see a qualified woman get the job.

Gary Luft, Foster athletic director, said Parker will be difficult to replace for numerous reasons.

"If I could duplicate his efforts with every coach, I wouldn't have a job, because there wouldn't be anything I needed to do," Luft said. "He makes my job so much easier, the way he accepts responsibility and runs a quality program. He demands excellence in everything he does. He's one of the best physical-education teachers I've ever been around."