ALTON - Marquette Catholic junior Parker Macias has been a key cog in the Explorers' boys basketball team success so far in the 2021-2022 season.
Macias is the Tucker's Automotive Repair & Tire Male Athlete Of The Month For Marquette Catholic.
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Parker thanked his parents for pushing him to work hard, but also reminding him to have fun and enjoy life.
"My sister was a successful athlete and I know that she is proud of my accomplishments," he said. "My family has always been supportive of me. Every coach I ever had helped me become a better person and athlete."
Some of Parker's key accomplishments are he was named to the Columbia Holiday Tournament All-Tournament Team so far this season.
"I have been the leading scorer in a lot of games and I average 13 points a game," he said. "But, I think my defense makes me a good all-around player. I average 3.8 steals a game and I take pride in playing tough defense.
"I have been playing basketball for 11 years. It’s fun to see hard work pay off. I put in a lot of hours in the off-season and it has really made a difference. Also, I love playing with this group of guys at Marquette. We are all friends and we are learning to trust each other when we play."
Parker said basketball is challenging and he definitely has learned a lot about commitment and hard work.
"My freshman year no one knew me and I had to work hard to earn my spot on the team," he said. "The habit of proving myself every day has helped me become a good player and student, and I also think it helped me become a more coachable player."
Parker added that he would like to play college basketball and he has a few schools in mind.
He said he is proud of his success in the classroom: "I made the high honor roll in the fall for the first time ever and I’m really proud of that."
Parker is also a cross country athlete.
Coach Steve Medford is Parker's head coach with the Explorers.
Parker said he loves playing for Coach Medford. "Coach Medford is a great coach and he knows how to get the best out of his players," Parker said. "He is hard on the whole team but it is fun when we go out and compete because we play a lot of other strong programs. It can be hard to play for a coach who expects so much effort and discipline, but it is rewarding and I would not want to play for anyone else."
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