Striking a Chord with GCISD Soccer Coach Doug Parra

A single violin opens a symphony with one long, uninterrupted note on an open string. Before the violinist can finish her inaugural sound, all of the stringed instruments rally behind the first chair and strike an identical chord. After the stringed instruments open the concert in unison, the focus transitions to a group of clarinets and trumpets, all are prepared and eager to take the ball. As the stringed and wind instruments become in rhythm, one final teammate joins the play: “Bum, Bum, Bum,” which is the powerful, deep sounds of a Bass drum. As the first movement gets underway, the entire team is now in harmony, and just a few notes away from a climax that will bring the crowd to their feet.

This might sound like the opening of a symphony, but actually it’s the music that plays in Coach Doug Parra’s head when a soccer team is driving the ball down the field -- just before one of the most exciting scoring plays in all of sport: a soccer goal. “Soccer is like music, it’s a universal language,” says the soft-spoken Coach Parra. Visibly changing tones, an animated Coach Parra goes on to say, “Of course, the most exciting part of soccer is scoring the goal, but to truly understand and appreciate the game, it’s what happens prior to the goal that’s interesting; it’s like a chess game.”

Internationally renowned for his knowledge of the Vogelsinger teaching method, Doug Parra has been coaching soccer players for decades. He has taught in countries like Columbia, Peru, Spain, and the United States, and many of his students have gone on to receive college scholarships and play professionally. Mr. Parra also played professionally himself for a few months, a career which ended when he was called to serve in the United States military.

His father was a pilot, which meant that Doug moved all around the world as a young man. But he was always remained passionate about the game, so much so that he spent time after his own practices to mentor kids younger than him. Later in life he officiating college and professional games, and has remained at the mercy of his passion for most of his life.