Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
John Barnes of Sweet Home has been named the new varsity girls basketball coach at Sweet Home High School.
Barnes, 34, succeeds Athletic Director Dave Goetz who filled in last season after Ken Roberts had to resign mid-season for personal reasons. Barnes is taking over a program that has not had a winning season record in nearly 20 years He said he plans to focus heavily on basketball fundamentals.
“These ladies have been through an awful lot of trying times this last year,” Goetz said as he introduced Barnes to the team last month. Goetz emphasized that he wanted to bring some stability to the program, someone who cares about kids.
The girls sometimes play second fiddle to other programs, Goetz said, but they work just as hard as the athletes in other programs.
“They got nothing but better last year,” he said.
The new coach has been in the community for eight years and has followed the high school sports programs, including girls basketball, Goetz said.
“I can’t express how excited I am to get started,” Barnes told the girls. “I think this is a great high school. I can’t wait for practice to get started.”
Barnes graduated from South Albany High School in 1992. When he married his wife, Stephanie, he moved to Sweet Home. They have three children, Madison Jennings, 12; Malerie Fortner, 10; and Ryan Barnes, 10.
Barnes has worked at Selmet for 15 years. He is a department lead in the Investing Department. He has coached since high school, as an assistant football coach at South Albany and as an assistant basketball coach.
“It really got me going,” he said of coaching, noting that he has coached everything from first-grade to freshman basketball except for a six-year span around the time his son was born.
“I believe in keeping it simple, having discipline to work hard,” he said. This program hasn’t been to state since 1989, and he wants to turn that around.
That will depend on what the team does on and off the court and staying positive, he said.
“Stability in the program is important,” he said, and so is “having someone that’s putting in as much effort as the kids are.”
On the court, it means focusing on the fundamentals right now, he said.
Many coaches say that when they start in a new program, he said, and then three practices later, they’re focusing on plays. He doesn’t intend to do that. He intends to focus on fundamentals constantly, including rebounding, dribbling with both hands and understanding basic roles on the court, not fouling, moving to the basket and screening.
He wants to keep things moving in a motion offense and man defense, he said, where the first option is fast break. Opponents will fast break and press constantly, and handling that press will be a key.
“There’s things I have to learn,” Barnes said. “But what I do understand is they’re going to have somebody there all the time, supporting them positively.”
Success isn’t measured in wins and losses, he said, but whether the team sticks together on and off the court and gives 100 percent with a positive attitude.
Official practices started Monday, Nov. 10.