- December 26, 2024
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Olympia High senior Parker Moss probably would have guessed the nickname Titans football coach Travis Gabriel gave him as a freshman wouldn’t have stuck all the way through to his senior year.
Baymax — which is a reference to the inflatable health care robot turned Ironman-like hero from the animated Disney movie “Big Hero 6” — is what Gabriel started calling the then-freshman offensive lineman because, well, Moss kind of looked like Baymax.
“Obviously, if you know the movie and see how big Parker is and how he wears his big, loose jersey, you can see that he kind of looks like Baymax,” he said.
But as the years have gone by, with the nickname sticking like super glue, it’s become much deeper than just a slight resemblance. For Gabriel, the nickname has turned into a representation of the relationship the two have built over their time together.
“There’s a lot of meaning to that nickname,” Gabriel said. “Parker is also like Baymax, because he’s a protector. He’s the soft cushion for the team. He protects his teammates on and off the field — and even me as his coach, he feels like it’s his obligation to protect me. I always tell him, ‘I’m the coach, I don’t need protection.’ But he always makes it his will to protect me where he can, and because of that, he’s always just been my Baymax … and he’s going to always be Baymax.”
Because of the relationship Moss and Gabriel have developed, it is no wonder why the senior lineman didn’t flinch when the opportunity to leave Olympia — during what can only be described as a transition season for the Titans, with Moss as the only returning starter from 2023 — came this offseason.
Moss was sticking with Gabriel, no matter what.
“That’s just not how I was raised,” Moss said. “To leave someone like coach Gabe, who’s helped me so much in my life, since I was a freshman up to now. A guy that has helped get me to college, has texted all these coaches for me. A lot of the reason I’m going to a great school next year is because he helped get me there. It’s just not in my character … to do that to somebody; especially someone who’s done so much for me.”
The impact Gabriel has had on Moss’ life goes beyond his achievements on the field and what he’ll accomplish at the college level. He’s helped mold Moss and countless players into quality young men.
That impact started on Day 1 of high school football for Moss.
“Since my first day here, he’s always just shown me love,” Moss said. “He always does so much for you as a coach and person. He’s always going to give you his best to try and help you get to somewhere you want to be, or just to make you the best person you can be. Which, I think is the best trait a coach can have.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you play college football or don’t,” Moss said. “What matters is what kind of man you become when you get older. What matters is having the tools to succeed in life. Coach Gabe is always teaching us those types of lessons. He doesn’t care if you play college football, he just wants you to be the best man you can be. That’s how my parents raised me, so for him to echo that means a lot to me.”
Although the player-coach relationship off the field is as special as it gets, it also has led to major success for both on the field.
After a stellar junior season — which saw the Titans win the district and Moss pick up offers from various programs, as well as inclusion on the All-Metro first team — Gabriel handed his 6-foot-3, 280-pound lineman the keys to the program and told him to lead the way.
“He might be one of the few four-year starters in all of Central Florida, and he’s the only returning starter for us, so to me it was obvious that he’s the face of the program for this season,” Gabriel said. “He’s waited his turn, he’s been patient, and now he’ll get the chance to leave his legacy on this program. He deserves all of the accolades he’s received up to this point. And, truthfully, this wasn’t something I chose, it was something he earned.”
The responsibility of leading this young Titans team in 2024 won’t be a simple one, but as the seniors who came before did to him, Moss knows that it’s his time to pour into the next generation of leaders.
“Day in, day out I know I have to set the example for the younger guys so they’re ready to lead next year, because, ultimately, I want Olympia football to keep succeeding,” he said. “I think setting the tone and pushing everybody to the best they can be is what we need me to be right now. We don’t have the experience. We lost all those guys from last year, but if we work hard — and that’s my job to instill that into everybody — if we outwork everybody, we’re going to win games. So, I just need to be a leader for us. That’s the most important thing right now. Leading my teammates and always having a positive mindset, never getting down on anybody. Always lifting each other up. … That really got taught to me my freshman year, and now it’s my turn to do the same for this next group.”
As Moss said, his approach to leading this young Titans team is the result of countless others who came before him and poured into his development. As he enters his final season, the hope is he will be remembered as someone who made good on the time invested him by giving it his all.
“I want to leave the program knowing that I gave everyone 100% and I never slacked off,” Moss said. “I want to leave knowing that I did all I could to lead this team and to encourage everybody. To be the leader that they expect me to be. … I want to leave a legacy of hard work but one that no matter always stays positive and remembers that football is supposed to be fun — it’s definitely going to be hard work, but it’s supposed to be fun. I just want to leave everybody with that mindset and be remembered as someone who approached football in that way.”
His coach, however, has no doubts about the kind of legacy Moss is going to leave behind.
“He is the best offensive lineman I’ve ever had as a high school football coach … and when you talk about some of the greatest football players to ever come through Olympia, you have to put Parker’s name with that group,” Gabriel said with absolutely no hesitation. “From the day he came into the program, he’s the same, even-keeled Parker that I met as a ninth-grader. He’s never shied away from responsibility, never shied away from competition; always wanting to compete against the best. He’s just been so steady for us as a program.
“But because he plays O-Line, you don’t see the stats or accolades,” Gabriel said. “Ultimately, I don’t think there’s any other offensive lineman to ever come through Olympia that has accomplished as much as Parker.”
