GLASSBORO, NJ – Sophomore swimmer Nate Parsley has quite the spirit of volunteerism. As the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative for the men’s swimming and diving team and a volunteer for the softball team, Parsley keeps himself quite busy.
Ever since the age of 10, Parsley (so. Milford, DE/Milford) has been an avid swimmer. In high school, he was both the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and captain of his swim team for two years while receiving All-Conference honors. Parsley was the salutatorian of his graduating class and the recipient of the Wendy’s Heisman Scholar-Athlete Award. “I enjoy being competitive and swimming. It’s also such a great workout,” he says. “Swimming is a sport where you can really focus on individual performance, yet how you perform still impacts the whole team.”
Parsley competes in the distance freestyle and backstroke events. This year, he swam a season best time of 57.15 in the 100 yard backstroke at the Metropolitan Championships. Against the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, he registered his top times in the 200 yard backstroke (2:06.89) and the 1000 yard freestyle (10:37.44). His season best of 17:55.00 in the 1650 yard freestyle was at the Franklin & Marshall College Invitational.
He is currently a health and exercise science major at the University. “I chose between Rowan and Franklin & Marshall College,” Parsley recalls. “But the decision was very intuitive. I really liked the atmosphere and the people were very school-spirited. That energetic school spirit was important to me.”
Parsley’s family has always been very tight knit, especially when it comes to sports. His father coached wrestling, tennis and softball while his sister competed in field hockey, softball and basketball. He would join his family and attend all of these athletic events. What started out as a fun observation, soon turned into a venue in which he could volunteer.
He began helping his father coach his sister’s softball team. “I started by catching the pitchers, working with both the infield and outfield players and pitching at batting practice,” states Parsley. He then continued by coaching both his sister’s high school and travel teams.
When Parsley came to Rowan, he looked for ways to volunteer here as well. The natural thing in the transition was to help out with the Profs’ softball team – something he eagerly did. “It was the same kind of thing,” he says. “Now, I do whatever Coach Wilson needs me to do. I mostly work with the pitchers.” He also partakes in any service projects the team is involved with, such as their recent service day at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.
All of this has been excellent preparation for a career in coaching. “I enjoy volunteering and I hope to coach one day,” comments Parsley. “So learning the aspects of the game at the college level will better prepare me to coach. I love the players and I like working with people and seeing them improve.” He hopes to find either a softball or swim team coaching job after he graduates from Rowan. “The mental aspect of both sports is the same – I’m learning team management. Plus, I like to be able to keep busy during the spring.”
