With the high school football season now officially over in South Dakota, coaches across the state are looking back on their team’s journey over the past months. For Joe Parsley, assistant coach for the Flandreau Fliers, this past season ended sooner than he and his colleagues had hoped.
Still, it’s one he’ll always remember.
A 2012 graduate of Flandreau High School, Joe returned to the area after attending Northern State University and exploring different career opportunities. Back in Flandreau, he’s enjoyed reconnecting with family while raising his own, and joining the Fliers’ coaching staff has been an especially meaningful part of that return.
Among the reasons why — for the past four years, Joe has been on the Fliers’ full-time coaching staff, a role that’s given him a close view of his younger brother, Paul, growing both as an athlete and a young man.
“What I’ve enjoyed the most is watching him enjoy the game and have fun,” Joe said.
“The last couple of years it (the game) hasn’t been super fun because we didn’t have a very successful season and we’ve been building to get to a year like we had this year.”

Paul, the youngest of nine children from Marty and Rita Parsley, has always been athletically talented, but he had a breakout season as the Fliers’ quarterback, learning only at season’s end that he had broken four school records.
Paul set records for career passing yards (2,919), career touchdown passes (29), single-season passing yards (1,407), and four of the top five single-game passing performances in school history.
This year, the Fliers also made it back to the playoffs for the first time in 12 years.
While Joe primarily coached the Fliers’ defense, he also worked with Paul as his quarterback coach, encouraging him to learn from others on staff.
“We’ve always had coaches come and go and we’ve had this staff for a couple of years now, and I think that attributes to our success this year. They all trust each other, they are all friends. Consistency is something they’ve brought to the team and they’re all real positive too,” Paul said.
Ahead of each game, Joe and Paul shared a special pre-game tradition — tossing the football back and forth during warmups. It’s a memory both will cherish.
“I was telling him after our last game — not many people get to do that, and I thought that was cool,” Paul said.
“When he was coaching me, we weren’t brothers, I was just another one of his players. Off the field though, we have a much deeper connection than just being football players. I just enjoyed having him as a coach.”
Next season will look different, with Paul likely heading to South Dakota State University to pursue a career in either dentistry or medicine. Joe, however, looks forward to returning to the Fliers’ program to keep building on this year’s progress.
“As the team continues to grow, I’m excited for the group coming up because they’ll have another year to mature and develop,” Joe said.
He and the rest of the coaching staff look forward to seeing how the team will carry forward the momentum and legacy of this year.