Girls soccer: Family fitness helped Warren's Parker produce

Alliyah Parker says she got her soft, contagious laugh from her dad.

This wasn't funny, though. This was serious, and it helps explain how the senior helped Warren have so much fun on the soccer field this spring.

When Parker was 8, her dad, Ted, would take her to hills and make her run up them with weights. Older brothers T.J. and Elijah and younger brother Isaiah also helped develop her into a serious competitor.

"They helped with my fitness and grit," Parker said. "We always had competitions at home. We would always go out and play soccer."

Several seniors led Warren to one of its best seasons in school history, and there was no better leader than Parker. A Daily Herald all-area member since her freshman year, the midfielder/forward is the Lake County captain this season. Named all-state for the second straight year, she was an all-conference player and Glenbrook Cup all-tournament selection all four years.

"I'm quite honored to be named the captain," Parker said. "I really don't think I should get it, but I did and I'm very excited about it. My teammates and I work together. Hands down, they make me look better than actually I am."

Modesty is also a strength of Parker, who will next play Division-I soccer for Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn., where she will study pre-med. While her laugh speaks to her shy nature, she is a different person on the field.

"I think I'm a technical player and I pass the ball off very well," Parker said. "I'm not shy around the team or on the field."

When Parker started high school, she thought she might be nervous at first. But she fit in well with the rest of the varsity team.

"I was expecting everyone to be mean because I was new to the team and I was a freshman," Parker said. "But everyone was very welcoming, including Kathleen Schrader and Alexis Strothers. They helped me a lot, steered me and gave me confidence."

Parker leaves Warren as its all-time leading scorer with 55 goals and 36 assists. She produced 22 goals and 18 assists this season, leading by example more than with her words.

"She's a quiet player," Warren coach Ryan McCabe said. "She's not going to say a lot to get the team going. (Her leadership) really comes more from her training and how hard she works. You can see it in her face and her eyes how much passion she has for the game and for this team. A lot of the girls feed off that. When she does say something, everybody stops and listens because it's warranted and has a meaning behind it."

McCabe saw growth from Parker each year.

"Confidence was one of the biggest things," McCabe said. "She's always been talented, skillful and just a smooth athlete. Teams double-marking her and man-marking her was a compliment. She could have backed down and gotten frustrated about it. The last couple of years she really accepted that."

Warren had an overall record of 21-2-2, winning the North Suburban Conference championship. The Blue Devils won a Class 3A regional title before being stopped in their own sectional final by eventual state champion Barrington. Blue Devils defender Natalie McNally defended Parker in practice and appreciated her teammate's abilities.

"She's great at keeping the ball," McNally said. "We've played together for a while, so in practice we go against each other. It was definitely good competition. I think we made each other better. She had a great turn. She had a way of getting separation to get a great shot off."

"She's very good technically and has one of the best shots I've ever seen," Warren midfielder Lindsey Hardiman said. "She's a good teammate and explains to people what to do, which is being a good captain."