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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Senior Standout: Fairfield’s Paris Becker

Hailey Sutton SWX
Fairfield, Montana. It’s a small town, but its athletic department makes a lot of noise every year. Whether it’s the football team dominating the Class B gridiron, the basketball team winning another state title, or even the track team racing their way to a gold medal finish: Fairfield knows how to win. And for the last four years, team manager Paris Becker has been on the sidelines, helping each team be their very best before they suit up and take the field. “Both my brothers played football and basketball, and I just kind of knew I wanted to watch them play, so I asked Les, and he was really nice about it and they took me under their wing, and I’ve just grown to love it,” said Paris. Paris is basically the team mom. She makes sure everything is set up properly on the field before practices and games, providing water, and helping take care of any bumps and bruises along the way. But she says she has one main task that is most important: “It’s mostly just keeping them under control,” she said. “And then also just providing support for them. Sometimes they’ll be on the sidelines and they need a joke or something, so I’ll give them a hug and tell them they’re doing good. Guys will be guys and sometimes they need a girl on the field just to keep them in check.” Head coach Les Meyer said the addition of Paris to the team was well worth it. “This year, she was kinda out in so many directions that we were kind of lost,” said Les. “We were like ‘Where’s Paris, When’s Paris gonna be back, Can she get us organized.’ So you know it’s good for her, but that’s one thing that we know with her, is that she will get us organized and keep us on track.” As if managing a team of high school boys isn’t tough enough, she’s also the student body president, class president, and a member of various clubs. To say she’s busy is an understatement. But, Paris says every second is worth it. “Even with the things I do, everyone is super supportive and understanding if I need to drop football practice, you know they’re always understanding and everyone’s really good with flexible schedules,” she said. “I mean if you just take the experiences, and the places she has gone - I mean she was one of the people on the board to select the Teacher of the Year. I mean, those kinds of experiences are just invaluable,” added Les. Paris plans to go to Montana State to earn a degree in English, however, leaving the Eagles behind won’t be easy for anybody. “We’ve said it many times over the years - good managers are good, and so that’ll be something that we’ll have to work on from here on out,” said Les. You can catch Paris on the sidelines of Saturday’s semifinal football game against Manhattan.