Dawn Barger, “A quiet storm is coming”
“A quiet storm is coming to town and first-year coach Dawn Barger is bringing it.” Coach Barger, who will take over the reigns as Head Coach of the Stewart’s Creek High School boys basketball team, is set to lead the Red Hawks to it’s first winning season in three seasons. Coach Barger, the first female coach to lead a boys basketball program at Stewart’s Creek High School in history, is ready and up for the challenge. Believe me, don’t let that fool you, because the coach is good at her craft and demands, even more, respect from her team and staff. She’s had success coaching boys and girls throughout her career and a State Championship to boast in 2011.
As Coach Tony, PrepHoops analysts for Tennessee interviewed Coach Barger, it was apparent that she is passionate about turning this ship around and doing it quickly. When asking about her philosophy and expectations for the program, she is academically and educationally focused. She understands the pressure, not only placed on the staff to make it happen but on the team as well. Coach Barger stresses graduating player’s and making sure each player is prepared for what life will throw at them in the future, and if she’s lucky to have a few player’s go on to play college basketball it would be a huge success for the program. Many coaches get to emotionally tied up in this basketball evolution and forget the most important things, the kid’s, says coach Barger. It’s not all about basketball to me! As a coach, we have to get back to teaching and helping these kids lay out a plan for life, which keeps me up at night making sure that I do my part, correctly.
As many of the coaches and programs that I have interviewed, multi-sport players are a big part of the team’s success. Coach Barger loves the fact that she has players who play other sports. It allows our athletes the opportunity to possibly be successful at something other than playing basketball.
The outlook for the Red Hawks for the, 2017-18 basketball season, will see a lot of help from underclassman. Wanting to give the fans something great to look at when you come to see the Red Hawks play, Coach Barger is positioning her team to have an up-tempo attack and style of play. In order to win playing with that style, she has developed a pyramid of success for her team. Within the pyramid, there are core values and trusted foundations you must learn in order to succeed, and that is what she demands from her team to follow. If any of those values are broken, it becomes an opportunity for her to teach. We have to remember, these are kids and if we can get it right the first time, you have them for life.
The Red Hawks will be led by two underclassmen that still have three seasons to grow. The solid backcourt duo in Javonte Platt, 5’11 (PG), class 2020, who is starting to show some interest from college coaches, has great handles, plays up-tempo, can shoot it well from mid-range and the 3, and loves to attack his opponent out of transition, and Ray Slaughter, 6’0 (PG), class 2020, who also has great ball handling skills, loves to play up-tempo, shoots well from mid-range and defends well and both ends of the floor will give everyone in the district as much as they can handle, from the guard position. The post will be defended by Steven Brown and Dre. Britton, who will be scrappy on the boards. The future looks great for the Red Hawks and coach Barger, especially with the development of sophomore 6’7 post-man, Tyler Wright, class 2020.
Within the 7 AAA conference, the Red Hawks will be chasing front-runners, Blackman, Siegel, and Riverdale high schools, all out of Murfreesboro, TN., for a conference title. Note to self; mark these opponents on your calendar, as games to watch. Coach Barger says a middle of the pack finish would be a great start to a long road to success for the Stewart’s Creek Red Hawks. Coach Tony and PrepHoops will be on hand for several games this season and wish Coach Barger & staff good luck and much success.