The dramatic win last week over unbeaten Midlothian Heritage in the closing seconds of a region semifinal game by a score of 45-42 was huge for the players and the coaches at Kennedale. But, it was even sweeter {{more: continue …}}for Coach Richard Barrett. It marked his 200th win by his count as a head coach.
Two hundred wins is a milestone by anyone?s measures. There are those coaches that seemed to have finished high school and automatically became a head coach. Most coaches spend many years learning their trade before testing the head job.
Richard Barrett worked as an assistant for Dan Yokeley, who was head coach at Kennedale from 1981 to 1990 and at Everman from 1991-97. Barrett left Everman to take his first head coaching position for the Godley Wildcats in 1995. He left Godley in 2001 for the Kennedale Wildcats and the rest is history.
He won 36 games at Godley in six years. He has 174 wins in 17 seasons at Kennedale and this [his 17th] season is not over yet. He has 11 district championships, 7 district runnerups, has had only 1 losing season in 23 years and has gone 47-7 over the last 4 years. He has never missed the playoffs since coming to Kennedale.
Another story to tell ?
Along with the huge win last week and the 200 win game record, there is another story to tell and to me it is the best of all. As a 28 year veteran of education (plus seven more as a part-timer), I love simple stories that speaks to character and educators. Those are stories that students need to hear. These are the ones that say that your integrity, your name, how you represent yourself all matter in both small and large things.
This is a simple story of honesty when no one is watching. This is a story of a coach on the verge of a personal honor who keeps to his personal code when no else seems to care.
Here is the story. Several years after he came to Kennedale, Coach Barrett self-reported a violation of playing an ineligible player. It seems a transfer to Kennedale had played one play in one game that Kennedale was winning big. The player turned out to be ineligible and was removed from the roster. But, because he played in the game, this was a violation and the penalty is a forfeit. Kennedale had won the game on the field but had broken a rule.
Here is the twist. Try to find in the records where the game is listed as a forfeit and it is almost impossible. It is not listed in MaxPreps. It is not listed on the website TexasHighSchoolFootball History.com. It may be in the records of a UIL district meeting at the time but where?
There are only a couple of coaches on the staff that were here when it happen. The principal who would have represented the district at the meeting is gone. By most accepted accounts, Coach Barrett won his 200th game two weeks ago against Van.
The holdout was Coach Barrett. He knew what the record should be and that was all that mattered.
What is the lesson that I love about this story? The lesson to his students past and present is what you do when no one is looking or no one seems to care really is important. It says a lot about you. Honesty is low on the list of personal traits in today world it seems, but it is something students need to hear about more.
Coach Barrett never told me this story, I heard from others. For him it was never anything to get excited about and not that big of a deal. I would disagree.For the students who sign their name to work that they really did not do, knowing that the teacher will never know or maybe not even care, it matters. For the students who cheat on a test when no one is looking, it is important. I think what a lot of teachers and parents want their students to know, it does matter even if we don’t know about it.
Maybe the students should look at from a different angle. Who do you really want to have your back when things are not going well for you? Who do you think in the long run will be a better friend? Who do you trust to do the right thing? And, maybe who do you want to be?
