Coach Daniel Barker Entering 4th year as Head Coach at West Carter High School, Olive Hill, KY
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Answer:ย We have had a special group of kids that really established the standard of how we play and how we prepare.ย Weโre a no excuses program, and our expectations donโt change.ย Our upcoming seniors have played a lot of football, with this being the 4th year starting or playing serious varsity minutes for a bunch of them. I think as coaches and players going forward we know how hard it is to be successful but we know the reward of hard work, dedication, and doing our jobs.ย I think those kids also realize how hard weโve had to work to get to where we went last year.
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We still havenโt reached the goal we set 3 years ago which is to bring a state championship to Olive Hill so we all know we have work to do.ย I think a lot of our kids are motivated to do their part to build the program and show how well they can play. When you graduate as good a class as we did, there are always hungry young kids that try to prove they belong.ย Our kids expect to win now, but they know itโs not an easy process.
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Before this year I hated them. Covid kind of changed that and now Iโm just thankful to play any day. We had one Saturday game this year and it was one of the best atmospheres we played in. You get fans from all over the area there when youโre the only game in town, so itโs a neat experience for the kids.
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I think it definitely could. Not a huge fan of Thursday games because of school on Friday, but I do think Rivalry games on Saturday and being the only game that night in the area would make for a good environment for the kids. Not sure if our or East Carterโs stadiums could hold many more fans than we already do for our games though.
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I think we really have to be intentional with what we do at the youth levels. In general, I think kids at those ages need to end the season by wishing for more games rather than being glad itโs over. I think our Youth League and MS do a really nice job of this.
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At the high school level, I think itโs important for all coaches to encourage kids to play sports. We canโt get in the mindset that our sport is more important. Ultimately, I hope all of our kids play winter and spring sports. Specialization is killing participation in many sports.
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Iโm more interested in the fundamentals theyโre being taught at those ages. I want them to run offenses and defenses that will teach them skills to be successful for us. But I donโt mandate that they run what we run. If they have good skill development, they can learn what we do fairly quickly.
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We run pretty much what I like to run. Weโre a multiple defense built on 1 gap football. We pattern match in most of our coverages. Generally, weโre a simple but adaptable defense.
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Offensively weโve kind of moved to more of a modern pro-style offense from where we have spread a few years ago. We use 1-2 TE, motion, play action, and RPO off downhill runs. I donโt call our offense (Coach Thomas Flannery does) but we run the style of offense I prefer. I donโt tell him what to run, so I feel like philosophically weโve kind of come to the same place with what we want to do when we have the ball. He calls a much better game than I would on the offensive side!
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Absolutely. Iโve coached against a few girl kickers and they were all really talented. 2 of the better kickoff specialist Iโve seen in HS were girls.
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Each kid is different. I think some kids that help with and some that would be even more detrimental with. In general, Iโd hate to do that to a QB.ย But for most kids and most positions, pulling them, showing video and coaching them up, and sending them back in works. Weโre fortunate to have some depth so our guys know they need to play well to play.
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We lift four days per week in the offseason and 3 days per week in season.
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Hard to pick one. I think weโd like to get our program to where weโre playing a traditional power from another part of the state in a competitive home and home. Got to keep working to get there!
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