Dion Parks, an assistant coach for Southeast Community College’s baseball team the past three seasons, recently was named head coach of the Storm.
Parks takes over for Ron Cullison, who led the Storm program during its first five years.
For the past three seasons Parks has been responsible for coordinating recruiting efforts while serving as an assistant coach. He also taught health, first aid and safety courses part-time for SCC.
Parks has a history with Beatrice baseball, including that as a player for the Beatrice Bruins from 2004-2006. He started at first base and helped the Bruins to a runner-up finish in the MINK League in 2005-2006. The Bruins also finished seventh one of those seasons at the National Baseball Congress tournament in Wichita.
While working on his undergraduate degree at Bellevue University, Parks was a two-year starter at first base and helped Bellevue qualify for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics World Series in 2006 and 2007. At one point during the 2007 season the team was ranked as high as No. 4 in the nation. That same year, Parks was named to the All-Nebraska NAIA team as a first baseman.
Parks got his first coaching experience with the Beatrice Bruins during the summers of 2007 and 2008. As third-base coach, Parks helped the Bruins to a third-place finish at the NBC Tournament, a championship of the Missouri Iowa Nebraska Kansas (MINK) League, and helped Beatrice to a 66-16 record.
After Bellevue University, Parks went to Dakota Wesleyan University where he earned a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction, secondary education, physical education, and health. He also served the Mitchell, S.D., school’s baseball program as assistant coach (hitting), recruiting coordinator and was responsible for player eligibility and compliance.
He helped Dakota Wesleyan to a 94-60 record in four seasons, including the 2009 Great Plains Athletic Conference championship. A year earlier the team finished runners up in the conference tournament.