Laurel High Athletic Director Nears End of Tenure

Terry Parfitt, during many years as an athletic director and soccer coach at Laurel High, has had to deal with hiring new coaches, one-goal losses and the suspension of student-athletes, such as was the case with the Spartans' football team after a game with High Point in 2009.

But perhaps the most trying moment came nearly 10 years ago with an incident that had nothing to do with personnel moves.

Several minutes after a home girls soccer game at Laurel's Kirby Field, a tornado roared north from College Park and passed directly over the west side of Laurel High and through the field, which had just 30 minutes earlier been the scene of a game.

By the time the storm hit that September day in 2001, Parfitt and Lou Slavin, his assistant soccer coach, were among the few people still near Kirby Field.

Parfitt and Slavin huddled on top of each other, outside the southeast corner of Laurel High. Neither one of them was hurt, but they were certainly shaken. The storm did major damage to several homes in North Laurel.

Parfitt, who will step down at the end of this school year as Laurel's athletic director, reflected on that tornado in an interview with Patch on Tuesday.

"We felt it tug us as it went by. I have never been so scared in my life," said Parfitt, who still suffers from panic attacks when the sky darkens. "We had 9-11 and then two or three weeks later we had this."

Parfitt's last day at Laurel will be June 20, he said Tuesday. Also slated to retire is Laurel High social studies teacher Randy Maddox, who was the boys basketball coach in 1980 when the Spartans won the state title. Dwayne Jones, the current Laurel principal, was a member of that team and was later the head boys basketball coach at Laurel.

"I have enjoyed it over the years," said Parfitt, who added the spring season is the most challenging because of rainouts. "I will miss it, but I know it is time."

Parfitt said he plans to play some golf and take it easy.

Jones told Laurel Patch on Tuesday: "He will be greatly missed. It is hard to replace someone who has been at an institution as long as Coach Parfitt has. It is always tough to replace someone who has 20-plus years with a school. He is also the one who gave me a job as an assistant basketball coach at Laurel High."

Parfitt said one of the most memorable athletic events was in 1987, when Laurel High won a state title in football.

"That was great," said Parfitt, who added the school won five regional titles that fall.

A graduate of West Virginia University, Parfitt came to Laurel High as the boys varsity soccer coach in 1983. He became the school's athletic director in 1989. He was remarried last year and his wife, Debbie, works at Bowie High. Parfitt is the longest-serving athletic director at public schools in Prince George's County. A former Howard County resident, Parfitt grew up in upstate New York and now lives in Bowie.

Parfitt, after college graduation, got a job at a junior high school in Mt. Rainier in 1970 and has been in the county school system since then. He was also a teacher and coach at High Point High in Beltsville and Friendly High before heading to Cherry Lane in Laurel.

Parfitt made the switch to girls soccer and coached the Spartans for 10 years through 2002. That season, Laurel advanced to the Class 4A state semifinals for the first time. After the 2002 season he resigned as Laurel girls soccer coach, in part to coach his son Jason on club soccer teams in the area. His son graduated from Atholton High and is on track to graduate in May from the University of Maryland.

Parfitt returned to the sidelines last fall as the girls varsity soccer coach at Laurel High. He took over for Laura Barrett, who had been the coach for two years and was an assistant under Parfitt in 2010. With Barrett slated to return as head coach, Parfitt said he may help out with the girls soccer team in the fall.

"I will come here [to Laurel] for games, I am sure," Parfitt said.