Cleats strike the ground. Grass flies up. A star awaits, but not on the turf. Starting his life with sports, including basketball, baseball and soccer, Coppell High School sophomore Jack Parshall never knew what his life would surmount to now.

“When I first moved to Coppell, I heard about their swim program,” Parshall said. “When I was younger, I would love playing in the water, but making that my main sport was definitely unexpected.”

Dedication, commitment and the ability to lock in to unlock his full swimming capabilities, presented Parshall with the opportunity to improve his overall physique. However, as for the sport he wanted to choose, he was in for a surprise.

“Watching Jack swim was like walking into a dusty old barn and seeing like a 1972 Ford Mustang covered in dust and tarp that hasn’t been touched in ages,” Coppell swim and dive coach Jon Drori said.

Referencing this dust, Parshall did not swim competitively until seventh grade. Out of more than 300,000 varsity swimmers in America, it is recommended to start prior to age 7, rather than in seventh grade.

“The fact that he started swimming just in seventh grade is meteoric,” Drori said. “It is a very, very short time to go from not swimming at all competitively to others who have been swimming all of their life.”

Joining the Cruisers, a Coppell YMCA club team, in seventh grade, Parshall’s challenges had merely just begun.

Coming off the tail end of all the shutdowns and COVID-19, swimming in seventh grade involved a lot of space between swimmers, coaches and teammates being two to three per lane and having a great deal of commitment was the only way to work with the restrictions.

Even Drori had a tough time weaving through the complexities of the regulations.

“We had only 60 people, and we spread them out to five per lane,” Drori said. “We had them swimming on opposite sides of the pool and also had to rework our contract with the YMCA to ensure we had more periods throughout the day.”

Moving significantly throughout his childhood, adversity has been nothing out of the ordinary for Parshall–a part he utilizes in his everyday life.

Losing his parents at a young age, he moved in with his grandparents and aunts.

“The support my aunts show me is incredible,” Parshall said. “They wake up at 4:45 a.m. and take me to swim at 6:15 and then they come in the afternoon, making sure I get picked up as well.”

Being his guardians, Parshall’s aunts have taken care of him, not just with transporting him to practice but with providing for him as well.

“When I walked into his house, I wouldn’t have even known his aunts were at the door,” senior swimmer Koji Clester said. “They don’t act like Jack is someone other than their kid.”

As Parshall’s life settled down and started to improve in swimming, he decided to re-district to Coppell for schooling, although he technically resides in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD.

“To be able to compete, you have to be eligible with the Previous Athletic Training Form (PAPF),” Drori said. “It is the eligibility the UIL decides on, making sure that you don’t move to a district outside of the district you are assigned to for a reason of a sport.”

Being unable to prove otherwise, he was sidelined, not able to compete for a year. Taken by surprise, Drori, only knowing him that year, still recognized his potential, and with his work ethic, Parshall continued to focus on his own self.

“It definitely increased his motivation,” Clester said. “Although Jack couldn’t show off his skills, he kept to himself, improving his times and getting ready for this year.”

While he was improving day after day, his teammates noticed, as did his coach.

“Jack might be the most locked-in swimmer I have seen in a long time,” Drori said. “Even with challenges and his eligibility stripped, he was still able to bring his attitude to the locker room and the pool everyday.”

With his skill being noticed by teammates, he started to be a motivation to his partners and peers pushing them to come to practice in the morning, challenging them to practice even if they want to take a study hall.

“He is one of the most committed swimmers in the program,” Clester said. “He honestly made me so much faster than I would have been because not only is he fast, but he is fun to work with and challenge due to his speed and overall ability.”

Only a sophomore, Parshall utilizes his mentality of being “locked in” not just in the pool but also the classroom.

“My teammates are extremely smart,” Parshall said. “Being able to connect with them and asking them for help on my assignments, as well as building friendships, is why swim and the overall swim community is awesome.”

As the grass settles from a long day of athletics, there is only one sport left. Swim: a sport that doesn’t get the attention, however, has some of the best stories.

“I want other athletes and aspiring swimmers to understand that swim can be started at any age,” Drori said. “Jack has been an inspiration to everyone in swim the minute he stepped in. Having the ability to stay so focused and concentrated even while his eligibility was taken, it is so easy to falter, and Jack has persevered through it all.”

This story was originally published on Coppell Student Media on February 7, 2025.