Six candidates were interviewed for the Clements High School head football coaching position, but one man stood out above the rest because of his coaching acumen and his commitment to community service.

Former Winston County and Hatton High assistant coach Michael Parker was hired earlier this month to coach the Colts, replacing Cody McCain, who resigned to take the head coaching position at Hanceville High School.

Clements will compete in Class 3A, Region 8 this fall with Colbert Heights, East Lawrence, Lauderdale County, Lexington, Phil Campbell and Westminster Christian.

“We had a lot of good candidates to pick from, but (the search committee) really liked his energy and the passion he showed not just for football but also for kids,” Clements athletic director Ben Campbell said. “He is also very big in the community and wants to work in the community, which is something we need at Clements. He’s been doing a lot of work within the community at Hatton and I know he’ll do the same at Clements.”

Parker, 47, a 1989 Hatton graduate, said he feels at home in the Clements community, which reminds him of his time at Hatton.

“Community is what I preach, and the atmosphere in the community is everybody seems to be close knit,” Parker said. “I’m from Hatton, and that’s the way we are there. The integrity of the people is really strong, and that’s one of the things I preach. Have integrity in everything you do, and Clements had that from the administration to every person who interviewed me. That was impressive.”

Now that he is a part of the Clements community, Parker said he wants his program to give back. That’s why he is requiring each of his players to do one hour of community service a week this summer.

“I told them that mowing grandpa’s yard is not community service, that’s what you’re supposed to do,” Parker said. “Helping at churches, helping the elderly, going out in the community and helping those who need it. That’s what they are going to do. I told them if they go out and do something to help, then the community will honor you on Friday night by watching you play.”

Parker does have head coaching experience, serving as the top man at Phil Campbell in 2008. He said he had a bad experience that year, and since then has stuck to being an assistant. He spent four years as the offensive coordinator at Winston County before being at Hatton the past two years.

“The superintendent who hired me at Phil Campbell left and the new one came in and wanted to go in a different direction,” Parker said. “It’s pretty disheartening when you put time and work in to build a program and it’s jerked out from under you. I thought I would just stick to being an assistant and not deal with that for a while.”

Parker remained an assistant coach while his son went through his high school football career, coaching him for two years at Winston County and two years at Hatton.

“There was a coaching change at Winston County and he wanted to go back home to Hatton and graduate,” Parker said. “I resigned my coaching duties at Winston County to watch him, but then coach (Denton) Bowling at Hatton asked me to help out, so I got right back in. Being able to coach my son and not be the head coach was great, because it allowed me to focus on him and his teammates. But after he graduated, I thought I would give head coaching another shot. It worked out that I’m at Clements and am very happy to be here.”