By
Jeff Lund
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Junior goalie keeps Laxcats on top
He's not 7-foot-1. He's not Loren Woods.
Yet, he blocks nearly every shot that comes his way. He does not play his sport for popularity, to impress agents or even under scholarship. You will never see him wearing a Nike swoosh when he takes the field, and there is absolutely no chance of him leaving school early for the professional ranks.
Junior Greg Parkington, the goalie for the Arizona men's lacrosse club team, plays for a different reason.
"I know it sounds corny, but I really play for the love of the game," Parkington said. "The fact that our players pay as much as they do to play just shows how much heart it takes to be in a club sport."
A native of Silver Springs, Md., Parkington grew up loving sports. In seventh grade he started to develop his passion for lacrosse. This passion stayed with him as his family moved across the country to San Diego while he was in high school.
Forced to sit out of the California high school lacrosse all-star game his senior year because of a concussion, Greg began chatting with a man selling lacrosse-themed jewelry. His name was Mickey-Miles Felton, the UA head lacrosse coach.
Parkington said the coach left a lasting impression on him with his fatherly mannerisms and his love for the sport.
"From the start, Mick (Felton) has been a big influence," Parkington said. "He's in the sport because of his passion. He's like a dad, brother and friend all in one."
The week following Parkington's encounter with Felton, he and his father took a tour of the pre-construction setting in Tucson. Parkington decided to commit to the UA for the academics and the athletics - equally.
"It was a spur of the moment thing," Parkington said. "I had visited other schools, but didn't like the setting."
The concussion he suffered during high school had changed the direction of Parkington's lacrosse career and his life. An injury his freshman year would change those again.
As an attacker his freshman year, Parkington separated his shoulder and was forced to sit out for the remainder of the 1998 winter season.
When spring came, Parkington was moved to midfielder until problems with the Wildcat goalkeepers gave the freshman an opportunity to start.
"I missed a lot when I was out with the injury," Parkington said. "When we had the goalie problems, I tried out, and that was it."
After drifting around the field from position to position, Parkington finally found his spot between the posts. In his first start as a goalie, he helped the Laxcats rise to a 16-10 win against UCLA in the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League playoff quarterfinals.
That year, the Laxcats received an invitation to the National Championships, where Parkington recorded a career-high 21 saves against Colorado. The game went in to overtime and the Laxcats fell to the Buffaloes.
Parkington said he still uses that game as a measuring stick to gauge his performances.
This season, UA has ascended into the top-10 nationally and is competing for more than just a bid to the national championships.
"We have a lot of talent," Parkington said. "We have a lot more heart and commitment than past years. We have the potential to go far."
While Parkington said he knows his future is uncertain - two injuries in consecutive seasons have a way of shaping one's perspective - he knows lacrosse will be there, one way or another.
"Being a member of the team has been my best experience at the U of A," Parkington said. "It's just amazing to be a part of a team like this. It has improved my character so much. It is something I will never forget.
"Lacrosse has been a great part of my life, and I don't want to let it go. I just don't know what I would do with myself. Lacrosse is the last true amateur sport."
