Red Bulls Gameday Feature

Journey Into MLS Is No Walk In The Parke

In football, he would be known as "Mr. Irrelevant", the tongue-in-cheek title bestowed each year upon the last pick of the annual draft. The reason that this "honor" is given out is that the last player selected in the draft is the one most likely to be the first cut from the team, thus making him irrelevant.

If Major League Soccer had given out this award following the 2004 SuperDraft, the honor would have gone to a player drafted by New York. But that player was not cut from the team, and, in fact, has grown into a consistent contributor for the club, and currently ranks among the franchise all-time leaders in games played, games started, and minutes. That pick, the 60th and last player selected in the draft that season, is none other than defender Jeff Parke.

Parke is the most successful of any Mr. Irrelevant in MLS draft history, as he is one of just seven players to make their team's roster from the last spot in the draft, with four of those never making a first team appearance, and another playing just 29 minutes. In fact, as the draft is currently constituted, no player can be drafted in the 60th spot, as the 2004 draft was the last to extend that far.

Parke's journey from Mr. Irrelevant in 2004, to the Red Bulls Ironman of the Year and Co-Unsung Player in 2006, to the Red Bulls Defender of the Year in 2007 takes us from Downington, PA, to Drexel University, to a broken down car on the turnpike, to a spot cemented in the Red Bull back line.

Going into the 2004 MLS SuperDraft, Parke wasn't sure where he stood in terms of hearing his name called on draft day. He had a solid career at Philadelphia's Drexel University, earning several local, regional, and conference accolades, and thought he had the skills to move on to the next level, but had not received the feedback that would make him feel confident on draft day. He was preparing for a potential MLS career, but had a fall back plan should it not have worked out for him.

"My backup was to just move on from soccer," Parke stated. "I only wanted to play in our first division, so if MLS didn't work out, I would finish school and go from there. I was studying business marketing."

Parke was not a lock to get drafted, however, as he had not been invited to the pre-draft combine. "I was on the reserve list, and they never called me. It was frustrating. I never really expected to get drafted. No one ever told me that they were going to put my name in the draft. I was just hoping, but I knew I at least had a chance as a trialist."

As Parke explained, "At that point I knew that I was at least going to have a trial with one or two teams at the time; either the MetroStars or the Wizards. My coach at Drexel hooked that up. So I was training every day."

When draft day rolled around, Parke tried not to think too much about it, and went about his normal off-season training regimen. "I would go down to the training center to run a couple of miles, play some one-on-one basketball against one of our athletic trainers for about an hour, and then I would go downstairs to lift," Parke stated. "It was a great workout. On that day, before we played basketball, I asked him if I could go on his computer to see how the draft was going. I checked out the first two rounds, but was like 'I don't think anything is going to happen', so I went and played basketball, then came back and kind of forgot about it for a little while. When I was walking out I checked my phone and there were like seven messages within two or three hours. I don't usually get seven messages, so I listened to a couple, and thought, 'Nah, they are just busting my stones.' Then there was one from one of my buddies, and he said 'We just watched it! Congratulations! You just got drafted!' After that a couple of more came through, and I didn't think all these people would be in on a joke like that, so I started walking back and called my dad all excited. I was pretty pumped up."

Though he had been preparing physically for a life in professional soccer, he was still taken aback upon hearing that he had been selected by New York. "It was pretty exciting for me," Parke admitted. "I really didn't see it coming and I think that was the best part about it. It was unexpected and a thrill ride. It was like they do know (about me) or at least they are going to take a chance with me."

A few days passed following the Friday, January 16 draft, and Parke was beginning to wonder if it there might have been a joke being played on him after all. "I hadn't heard anything from the team, and I wasn't sure what to do. I wasn't sure if I was just supposed to show up or what." A few days later Parke went on the MetroStars website, looked up the number for the office, and said "Hi, this is Jeff Parke, is there any way you can put me through to Bob Bradley?" After a brief conversation with Bradley, Parke was packing up his belonging and preparing to travel to the team's mini-camp that Monday.

But Parke's rather circuitous journey was just beginning. This time, Mother Nature and a rickety vehicle conspired against the Downington, PA native.

"The day I went up was bad weather," Parke explained. "I was driving my old car then, and it had been acting up. I stopped to say good-bye to my girlfriend before leaving school, and called my parents and said, 'I don't think my car is going to make it'. They told me to drive it home, since I was about 40 minutes from my house. Of course, my car broke down. I was like, 'What am I going to do now?' I called my parents and told them I had broken down on the side of the road and that they had to come get me. My parents took two cars on the turnpike and swung back since they were coming south and I was on the northbound side. I threw my stuff in my mom's Jeep and took off for the mini-camp. When I got there I grabbed a hotel until I could figure out what was going on."

Though just arriving at the team's mini-camp must have seemed like an accomplishment to Parke, he still needed to prove himself and earn a spot on the roster. But having already made it this far, there was little that was going to slow him down, though he knew that there was going to be an adjustment period for him.

"I was pretty fit going into camp," stated Parke. "What I did to prepare myself before the camp was probably one of my better off seasons, because I really got after it every day. I wasn't really ready for the pace of the game, though, and it took me a while to adjust. I am still adjusting."

"I didn't know if I was going to make the team until the last week of preseason. I signed towards the end of March. I didn't have an agent really, so I pretty much just signed the contract. It was very nonchalant, actually. It was just me and Nick Sakiewicz."

Parke appeared in 28 of the club's 30 games during his rookie season, making 27 starts, tallying one goal and one assist. "For the most part I think I had a half decent rookie year," Parke commented. "I was basically running off adrenaline the whole year, just being thankful that I was there. I feel I played well in the first half of the season, then hit a wall a bit in the second half."

Since that eventful rookie season, Parke has established himself in both the back line for New York and in MLS. After a 2005 season which saw Parke start 19 of the 21 games he appeared in, the central defender featured in 31 of New York's 32 games, earning the team's Ironman of the Year award after leading the team with 2,771 minutes played. He also shared the club's Unsung Player of the Year award with Seth Stammler. Last season, Parke was tabbed as the Red Bulls Defender of the Year as his presence on the back line helped goalkeeper Jon Conway post a goals against average that ranked him among the MLS leaders.

Parke's ability on the pitch, and his ability to stay healthy and productive, has begun to move him into elite territory in the New York record book. Entering tonight's match against Kansas City, Parke has played in 113 matches for New York, and has moved past Tab Ramos into fourth place on the franchise's all-time list, behind only Mike Petke (134), Tony Meola (125), and Steve Jolley (120). Parke enters the fixture tonight with 108 career starts, good for fourth on that list as well behind Petke (129), Meola (125), and Jolley (112), and will soon join the same trio as the only players to have played over 10,000 minutes in a New York kit. Parke could become the career leader in all three categories before the end of the season.

When asked about entering this elite company, Parke comments, "I am honored to be in that company with those guys. Each and every one of them is a stud in their own way, and to be mentioned in that group is humbling for me."

Even with all that experience, he is still working towards improving himself as a player, and is uneasy when asked if considers himself a leader on the team, for as Parke confides, "I still have some areas to improve in before I can feel that I am a leader on the team. There are too many spots I need to improve on my game. I have put my time in and I think I know what I am talking about, but in the near future, I think I can be a leader on this team and people can follow me."

When looking back on his progression from the last pick in the draft to one of the most tenured players in New York history, Parke is amazed at how far he has come and how long he has been around. "This is not how I thought it was going to play out," he stated. "I was taking it one year at a time, and then just trying to make it through the next year. Now it's kind of sinking in that hopefully I can do well and make a name for myself. Just that people can see me for the player that I am."