The Mercury News Weekend

Coach mourns fallen player, Ranger hopeful

Parros, 21, died after a training session in the swelter of Fort Benning, Georgia

- GARY PETERSON COLUMNIST

Bob Ladouceur, architect of the De La Salle High School football juggernaut, saw something special in Michael Parros. Though others played more snaps and compiled flashier statistics, Ladouceur noticed in Parros leadership qualities that transcende­d football.

“He had a real quiet resolve about him that was very internal,” said Ladouceur, who coached the Spartans for 34 years before retiring after the 2012 season. “He wasn’t loud. He didn’t say a whole lot. He said it through his actions. He’d be there for everybody else. It didn’t surprise me when he desired to go to West Point. I thought, that makes perfect

sense.”

Parros, who played on the De La Salle varsity team in 2010 and 2011, wasn’t content to stop after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy in May. He aspired to be an Army Ranger, reporting for duty at Fort Benning, Georgia, on June 27. Tragically, 2nd Lt. Parros, 21, fell ill Monday during his first day of Ranger training and died in a hospital Wednesday.

A U.S. Army Ranger spokesman said Parros had hyponatrem­ia, a condition that occurs when sodium levels in the body become abnormally low, but that the cause of death had not been determined.

“It’s definitely shocking, and it’s heartbreak­ing,” Ladouceur said. “He had such a bright future ahead of him.”

The coach described Parros as “a great team player” who had the versatilit­y to play three positions — quarterbac­k, wide receiver and defensive back — and the selflessne­ss to wait his turn to get on the field.

Though he saw limited action, he scored six touchdowns in 23 games, one on an 82-yard run while playing quarterbac­k.

“He was always (willing to do) whatever it took,” Ladouceur said. “No matter what it was, he was right there. He was so versatile we were able to put him in when kids got hurt. We wouldn’t have falloff. And he was a great practice guy, too.”

Off the field at the private Concord school, Parros was not afraid to stray from his comfort zone.

“He was a great student,” Ladouceur said. “He challenged himself in the classroom. He took tough courses. He took a Shakespear­e course and was good at that.”

De La Salle has had other athletes attend service academies. They share common traits that Ladouceur recognized in Parros.

“When we get a student that’s destined for West Point, there’s not a whole lot you have to do to get him in team-player mode,” the coach said. “He’d play scout team quarterbac­k to help prepare us for our opponents. We didn’t have to teach him what to do.”

Ladouceur preferred to focus on how Parros lived instead of dwelling on how he died.

“It doesn’t detract from the life he did live,” the coach said. “It was full. He took a lot of chances and risks. I’m not talking about foolish risks; I’m talking about calculated ones. It takes a lot of courage to go to a service academy, far away from home, in a whole new environmen­t. That says how much he liked the challenge, the adventure of it.

“He was a real Spartan. That’s high praise — a real Spartan.”

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 ?? DEAN COPPOLA/STAFFARCHI­VES ?? De La Salle receiver Mike Parros runs for a touchdown during a scrimmage at Pittsburg High School in 2011. Parros died Wednesday in Georgia while training to become an Army Ranger.
DEAN COPPOLA/STAFFARCHI­VES De La Salle receiver Mike Parros runs for a touchdown during a scrimmage at Pittsburg High School in 2011. Parros died Wednesday in Georgia while training to become an Army Ranger.

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