New London – Ah, perspective. That old thing. Here’s what we know about it: It only comes from experience. And there’s no other coach around here that has more of it than Missy Parker, who has seen the glory and the gory, been to the summit and then felt the plummet.

A few weeks ago, Parker was part of a triumphant group hug at Mohegan Sun Arena, with Holly Misto and Arianna Dolock, part of the coaching staff that led New London, the No. 1 girls’ high school basketball team in Connecticut, to the state championship before more than 8,000 fans.

And now? Parker is four games into the softball season, the head coach in Whalerville, whose team has already lost games 19-4, 17-2 and 15-0.

If that juxtaposition doesn’t keep you humble …

“I really enjoy coaching both teams,” Parker, part of the city’s first family of coaching (her husband, Craig is the boys’ basketball coach at New London) was saying after Wednesday’s practice. “But I definitely have perspective and maybe insights into things other coaches might not. I have to stay realistic. One thing I know is this: I don’t expect kids to do more than they’re capable of, but I definitely expect their best effort, whether coaching the No. 1 team in the state or a team that struggles to get wins.”

New London softball does not have its Jada Lucas and India Pagan yet. They are the revelations that led to basketball’s recent salvation. The relative smoothness of winter — you can always give the ball to Lucas and Pagan — has become the burden of spring. The Whalers, who have been sentenced to the Eastern Connecticut Conference’s most competitive division — Division I with defending state champion Fitch, NFA, Ledyard and East Lyme — have different goals in divisional games. Winning might not be among them.

“We celebrate the little things. If they make a routine catch, we celebrate it because we don’t always make the routine catch,” Parker said. “We celebrate double plays. It’s the effort. We celebrate effort. And we try to have fun with it. It’s never fun to get mercied. It’s not fun to lose. But I always tell the girls when we play Fitch, East Lyme, NFA and Ledyard that no matter the score, we can still come off the field with our heads held high if we know we’re playing to the best of our ability.”

New London’s designation in the ECC’s Division I is perhaps the best example of the league’s ongoing dysfunction, a double standard that would be hilarious if it weren’t so pathetic. Consider that the CIAC has designated New London — by enrollment — a Class M school for state tournament purposes. Other Class M schools in the ECC: Stonington, Waterford and Griswold, all with more tradition and recent success than the Whalers. Yet Stonington, Waterford and Griswold get to play in lower divisions within the ECC, while New London, struggling to make routine plays, must play the iron.

Can any of the league’s poohbahs explain that one?

No, really.

And can anybody explain why there’s leaguewide outrage when New London wins a football game convincingly … and nothing but crickets when softball or girls’ soccer loses 12-0?

Hello?

Is this thing on?

“Honestly, it’s ridiculous,” Parker said. “Makes no sense. All the other coaches agree with me. We sit at the meetings and none of us can understand why New London softball was put up to Division I and has to play these other powerhouses. It doesn’t make for competitive games and it’s not fair to either program.”

The ECC won't let other teams trade places with New London softball or soccer. Not only is that silly, but it’s a disservice to the group high school sports purport to serve first: kids.

“I understand because basketball and football do well, that’s why we’re in this situation,” Parker said. “But there has to be a way they can do this without it affecting our soccer and softball programs and really all of our other programs except for basketball and football. We’re not a large school. They’re not looking at what is best for student-athletes in each sport. They’re going off basketball and football. And everyone else just gets caught in the whirlwind.”

It won’t get much easier this spring. But Parker will celebrate the little things and hope the program gets better incrementally. And she’ll get to wear a championship ring from basketball. At least there’s that.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro