Well-rounded Parker trades dance shoes for basketball
By Kevin Taylor
Alma Schools
Daimya Parker is sitting in a darkened room watching basketball highlights of people she’s yet to lay eyes on. It’s a long way, in just a short amount of time, from the glitz and glamor that came with Saturday’s 5A state dance championship.
But Parker, carefully choosing her words, wouldn’t have it any other way. Hard work doesn’t come without patience.
“You learn to appreciate what hard work does for you,” Parker said. “During the (dance) season, it’s a lot of work … because that’s basically your new family. We eventually get tired of each other, too, but the hard work pays off when we win state.”
Saturday, in front of friends and family, the Airedales raised their second straight 5A state dance trophy. Parker rejoiced.
“It’s a nice feeling knowing that the hard work that I put in does go somewhere,” she said. “It gets shown publicly, but it’s also nice to know internally that I can do anything. If I can get through a 6 a.m. practice that lasts two hours, and get through a second that lasts two-and-half (hours) during competition week, then I can do anything.”
This week, Parker’s attention turns to basketball, where the Lady Airedales have given the reigns of the program to former star guard Chanlee Bottoms. Bottoms is just the sixth head coach for the Lady Airedales since 1947.
“It doesn’t really even feel like we have our first game, which is crazy, but I think she’s (Bottoms) done a lot to turn this program around and I’m excited to see where she takes us,” Parker said. “She’s got passion, so it bleeds onto us; it just makes us play a lot harder.”
Bottoms has already left an indelible mark on her players, Parker said.
“She always says that if you learn one thing from all of this, you learn that no matter how hard things are in life you learn to push through,” Parker said. “I’ve learned to do that a lot, not just with basketball, but with anything in life. I appreciate that from her.”
Parker is among a handful of underclassmen expected to carry some of the load heading into the 2023-24 season.
“Daimya Parker is going to be vital to our offense being a point guard,” Bottoms said. “She brings a lot of experience to our team, along with Jordan Gramlich, and Jaden Gramlich … Kylie Poole didn’t get a lot of experience but she’ll have to come in and play a major role with our team.
“Daimya brings that energy you may not see on the court - but she has that in the locker room every day, and that’s what we appreciate with her.”
The Lady Airedales finished 7-20 overall and 3-11 in 5A-West play last year.
“Really, last year we got closer as a team,” Parker said. “That helped with the team bonding. Right now, since it’s basically the same team, the family dynamic is already there. That was one part of the program that we didn’t have to rebuild because we’re very welcoming. At this point, it’s just about putting in the work.”