DANVILLE, Va. — Former Averett University quarterback Todd Parsons was one of 30 former student-athletes selected for the NCAA’s upcoming Future Coaches Academy, which will be held Jan. 10-12 in Orlando in conjunction with the annual American Football Coaches Association convention.
The Future Coaches Academy, the first of four programs in the NCAA’s coaching academy series, targets student-athletes who have recently completed their collegiate eligibility and have a desire to enter the college football coaching profession.
“I was pretty excited,” said Parsons, who applied for the academy in November and found out he was accepted in early December. “It’s a pretty competitive job field in the coaching business. Getting accepted to this is a big foot in the door for me.”
Parsons played for the Cougars from 2003-2006, where he set numerous records, including total yards of offense for a career, single season and a game. He also helped Averett earn a share of the 2006 USA South Conference championship.
The son of a long-time football coach, Parsons knew he wanted to coach even before enrolling at Averett.
The two-time all-conference quarterback interned with the Averett coaching staff during the spring of 2007 following his senior season.
“That spring, he helped us coach and recruit and make phone calls,” Averett head coach
Mike Dunlevy said. “He was already trying to help build his resume so that he could start to prepare himself to coach at the college level.”
Upon graduation, Parsons joined the football coaching staff at McDaniel College in 2007. Parsons has served as McDaniel’s quarterback coach for the past two seasons after coaching running backs for one year.
“There’s definitely a change from playing to coaching,” Parsons admitted. “I always wondered why coaches would get upset when I was playing, but now I know why. It’s definitely a unique experience.”
Participants for the Future Coaches Academy were selected by a committee of athletics administrators, AFCA members and former college coaches. The NCAA states that the purpose of the academy is to help the participants gain insight into academic issues, building successful football programs, career opportunities, communication techniques, diversity and inclusion, lifestyle balance, management and fiscal responsibilities, NCAA compliance considerations and the preparation of student-athletes for overall academic and athletics achievement.
“It will be a great opportunity for him to get some experience and exposure around Division I coaches,” Dunlevy said.
The NCAA also will host a reception during the three-day event celebrating the recent hires of the 2009-10 football hiring cycle. In addition, all NCAA football academy alumni have been invited to attend. About 150 football coaches have participated in the NCAA football coaching academies and forums since they began in 2004. The NCAA’s academies are designed to assist with career advancement, networking and exposure opportunities and to raise awareness regarding the pool of qualified coaching candidates.
“It’s a great networking opportunity for me and the other guys who were selected to it,” Parsons said. “Hopefully I’ll get to meet some coaches that might open me up to some other opportunities. It will also be a great learning experience in terms of getting to sit down one-on-one with some head coaches and talk football with them.”