Coach of the month a family man

Ian Parsons says he was honoured just to be nominated.

Parsons is the head coach of the Charleswood Broncos peewee gold team in the Manitoba Minor Football Association. He is also an assistant coach with the Oak Park Raiders of the Winnipeg High School Football League.

His efforts on the sidelines were recently recognized when he was named Coaching Manitoba’s coach of the month for September.

Parsons was nominated for the award by one of his Broncos players, who saw an ad for award and wrote a letter of support

“That meant a lot coming from one of the players,” said Parsons, whose day job is assistant superintendent at the Headingley Correctional Centre.

Parsons has been involved in football in one capacity or another since he was 13. He grew up in St. Vital and played receiver for the local Mustangs program.

Football is very much a family affair for Parsons. He coaches both his sons — Matthew is a defensive back at Oak Park while Curtis is a quarterback for the Broncos. His eldest daughter, Stephanie, has done some assistant coaching with him as well.

Parsons began coaching eight years ago in order to spend more time with Matthew, who was playing for the Broncos at the time.

As Matthew moved up the ranks, Parsons followed and he is now is defensive backs coach at Oak Park in addition to his duties with the Broncos. He’s also a member of the Broncos’ board of directors and a vice-president of the MMFA.

Parsons says he is grateful for the support of his wife, Kristin, who is very encouraging when it comes to football.

“She’s very much involved too, and is a board member on the Broncos,” he says.

Parsons says one of the best parts of coaching with the Broncos organization is the support it receives from the community. About 5.5% of kids in Charleswood try out for the Broncos compared to 3.5% of youngsters in the rest of the city, he says.

“We’ve got the highest ratio of kids turning out for football across the entire city,” he added.

Oak Park head coach Stu Nixon says one of the things that makes Parsons a great coach is his understanding of kids.

“He understands the kids, or whatever age group he’s coaching, and he understands the fundamentals of sports,” Nixon says. “He’s got excellent communication skills.”

Parsons acknowledges that is sometimes tough to find the right balance as a parent and coach when it comes to working with his own kids. The upside, he says, is all the extra time they spend together on the field.

“The kids enjoy it too and it improves our relationship,” he says.

Parsons says he hopes to continue coaching until his son Curtis finishes high school.