Parents, Do You Know Where Your Kids Are At 4:30 AM?

A typical day in the life of a Parker athlete from a rural background, June 23, 2010

Mark and Matt Pakes are up early to help with farm chores before coming to school. Their parents James and Bernadette Pakes know where their two youngest children are at 4:30 AM. James Pakes [below left] is pictured with his two youngest sons Mark [red shirt] and Matt in the milking parlor on their farm located southwest of Janesville. The picture was taken at 4:35 AM as Mr. Pakes and his sons were milking 85 cows at their dairy farm. Coaches who can only dream of the perfectly executed play would have been impressed at how well drilled the cattle were as they filed into the twelve milking stations then pivoted to allow the next cow in line an opportunity to back into a stanchion and then patiently waited as the milking process proceeded. After the cows were milked the stanchions opened and the cows exited the parlor allowing the next 'shift' to move into the milking stations. After finishing their early morning chores Matt and Mark were dropped off at Parker for the 7:30 AM session of strength training and speed work at the Parker JAB's session.

Above L-R: James Pakes, Mark Pakes, and Matt Pakes. Above right: It takes about a week to train a cow to 'march' into the milking parlor and take a position at one of the milking stations.

With their father leading the way Matt and Mark prepare the cows for milking. The herd is made up of Holstein and Jerseys. Each cow has a number. Milk production is closely monitored and any deviation from the norm might signal that a 'Vet' would be contacted to administer to a cow that might be sick. The Pakes family illustrates the strength that family farms have provided to the American culture. In addition to the economic impact of family farms to our communities the children from family farms have contributed greatly to the success of our schools. The Pakes children have been fixtures at Parker High School since the late 1990's. Jessica [Class of 2001], JT [Class of 2003, All-State linebacker and defensive award winner], John [Class of 2005, nose guard, Marine-served in Iraq], Michael [Class of 2006, WR, linebacker], and Danielle [Class of 2008] are graduates of Parker. Matt will be a sophomore at Parker during 2010-11 and Mark will be an eighth grader at St. Patricks School.

Matt [above right] and Mark [below right] and their father worked efficiently as a team in milking the cows. Little was said as each family member anticipated the next move in the process to insure a smooth operation.

Matt and Mark also had chores to do when they returned home after their JAB's workout. Then at 4:30 PM the milking process was repeated as the cows were milked for the second time in a day.

About the time that most Parker students were waking up the Pake's boys had put in a solid two hours of work. The pictures below show Matt and Mark in their Wednesday, June 23 workout at Parker.