Kent Harrison and Alan Parish have each received Coach of the Year honors for their respective work with the baseball and girls’ cross country teams in 2010-11. These awards are voted on annually by fellow varsity head coaches and awarded by the athletic director.
Harrison is entering his second year as Darlington’s head baseball coach after serving as the assistant coach for three years. This spring, he led the varsity baseball team to the Elite Eight. He is an ASA-certified umpire and a certified Little League umpire with six years of coaching experience. Prior to his arrival at Darlington in 2006, he coached baseball at Paulding County High School and Heard County High School. He also coached junior high basketball and golf at Rockmart Middle School. Harrison is finishing out the year as assistant director of boarding admissions and will be teaching Upper School math this fall. He is also a member of the Athletic Committee.
Parish is entering his fourth year as Darlington’s head cross country coach, and also serves as the distance coach for the school’s track and field team. Last season, he led the girls’ cross country team to a Class A State Championship. While at Darlington, he has held additional head coaching positions with the Middle School cross country and varsity swim and dive teams. Prior to his arrival at Darlington in 2005, Parish spent two years in Lusaka, Zambia, coaching basketball and swimming at the American International School in Lusaka. He also helped start the Running for Life sports camp in Kiev, Ukraine, which introduces underprivileged youth to the sport of track and field. Parish teaches graphic design at Darlington. This is the second consecutive year he has been named Coach of the Year for his work with the girls' cross country team.
