Bill Parise accomplished plenty as a player and a coach.

It's his admiration of another athlete that led the Butler native and 2000 Butler Area Sports Hall of Fame inductee to co-author a book about Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison.

Parise, who's served as Harrison's agent for seven years, joined forces with Bill Moushey to write "Never Give Up," a book about Harrison's life and NFL career.

"Because of who I am, I'm attracted to people overcoming odds and people doing good things for people," Parise said. "James was cut three times. He's had difficulties in his life and overcame them.

"I told him his story needed to be told, that we needed to write a book. He was totally supportive of the idea."

For 35 years, Parise has been chief operations officer of the YMCA in Western Pennsylvania. He transformed a nearly bankrupt Beaver County Y into a 72,000-square-foot facility that has 11,000 members. He has been CEO of that Y for more than 20 years.

The captain of football teams at Butler High and the University of New Mexico, Parise went on to compile a record of 102-1 as a gymnastics coach.

"I had no intention of getting into sports marketing as a player agent," he said. "I was pretty much drafted into that business."

Parise became an agent in 1984 when then-Steelers linebacker Robin Cole approached Parise about representing him.

"Robin played football at New Mexico and so did I," Parise said. "There aren't many New Mexico alumni around the Pittsburgh area. We're a small fraternity."

Parise is now part of a sports marketing firm that represents 60 athletes, including NFL players, track and field standouts and Olympians. He remains CEO of the Beaver County Y as well.

When it came to finding a co-author, Parise thought of Moushey, a Pittsburgh-based writer who was a 1996 Pulitzer Prize finalist for a series on witness protection programs.

"He's an Ohio native and a Kent State graduate (where Harrison played)," Parise said. "That and the fact he was a Pulitzer Prize (finalist) were the main reasons I contacted him.

"I didn't know Bill then, but he was very interested in joining forces on the book. It couldn't have been done without him." he added.

The duo began writing the book in March. The self-published product will be in book stores next week.

"We had 2,000 people committed to a copy before it even went to the printer," Parise said.

"The process of writing it wasn't difficult. I've become close to James and his family, and his mother and father," he said. "I lived through a lot of the stories as his agent. People were accessible and open during the research process."

Harrison's parents had 14 children. His mother's sister was murdered by her husband, so Harrison's parents wound up taking care of her children as well.

"There were 22 of them altogether," Parise said. "James has been through some negative things in his life, done some wrong things and accepted the consequences for them.

"He never made excuses or blamed anyone else, and never lost focus on the future. The guy doesn't lie. Sometimes it's biting, sometimes it's harsh, but he tells the truth. His story is compelling," he added.

Parise grew up in Butler. His father was a mill worker "and I grew up respecting values, tradition and hard work.

"I had Paul Uram as a coach in high school and learned quickly through him that you can't tell a lie. You had to accept responsibility for everything you did. James Harrison has those same attributes," Parise added.

The Harrison book also is available through jamesharrisonnevergiveup.com.