The Parker Track Club was on full display at the 2023 AAU Junior Olympic Games in Des Moines, Iowa, as 43 of their runners participated in multiple track and field events at Drake Stadium July 28.

The club, which typically trains at Bob Jones High School’s track field, worked with more than 123 young athletes this year, all between the ages of 4-18. Through their many hours of work in the summertime, the club was able to get 63 of their athletes qualified for the junior games, but only 43 made the trip to the midwest.

“The goal of the track club is to keep kids off the streets and out of trouble,” Kirk Parker, founder of the Parker Track Club said. “An idle mind is the Devil’s workshop, the mind will always find something to do.”

Parker partook in track and field back in his younger days. He created the nonprofit club back in 1985, and it has become a staple to the northern Alabama area ever since. Throughout the club’s history, Parker has helped nurture countless young athletes to reach lofty achievements.

Ezekiel Parker, Parker’s son who trained in the Parker Track Club for most of his childhood, is a perfect example of such an athlete. Ezekiel “Zek” Parker was a highly touted multi-sport athlete during his time at Athens High School, and in 2015, he was inducted into the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame.