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Name: Daniel Barker

School: West Carter High School

Position: Head Coach/Assistant Principal

College: Morehead State

What are your concerns entering the 2024 season?

We want to continue to build on the momentum from late in the year. Our young team learned to compete and eventually win, and we need to carry that over. We lost five games by a total of 23 points, so we know what we need to be successful and continue to build this year. 

How important is spring ball for not only the players but also the coaching staff?

Being a school of 500, spring ball is hard for us. We have a ton of multi-sport athletes and some multi-sport assistant coaches. We get all the work we can, but small school spring ball is probably not as beneficial as it is at bigger schools, in my opinion. 

What will you miss the most from the 2024 class?

There were only six of those guys, but they competed hard and were tough kids. Had some good senior leadership on the OL/DL. We had some skillful kids that did a really nice job for us. 

What is the thought process behind the grid game you guys play before each season?

We want to compete, build depth, and stay healthy. This year’s opponent will be Greenup, so we will get to see a talented, well-coached team with a dynamic QB. It should be good work and help us prepare for the season. 

West Carter was able to double their win total from the 2022 season to the 2023 season. What were the biggest improvements from 2022 to 2023?

Our 14- and 15-year-old kids became 15 and 16 years old. Kids were older, more experienced, bigger, faster, and stronger. More importantly, I think our kids began to understand the things that made our really good teams so great. I think there was a little bit of expectation that winning would be easy after our 2019–2021 run of seasons. It’s never easy. Those kids worked their tails off, and now our kids understand what it took for those groups to be great. 

What will the 2024 team have to do to finish over 500 this season?

Stay healthy. Continue to focus on the details. Compete at a high level. 

If you could make one change to Kentucky High School football, what would it be and why?

Eliminate the bye week and move the season back a week. 

As the head coach, what do you do to help aid your players in getting recruited?

We keep up-to-date information on all of our prospects that we share with schools. We help our kids find schools they’re interested in and that they can play at. We don’t have a ton of kids each year that try to play college ball, but when we do have kids that want to, we can usually find them a school they really like. 

What is the most rewarding part of being the head football coach at West Carter High School?

Running the football team in your home town can be an awesome experience. We don’t have a huge school, super-nice facilities, or a lot of money. We don’t have a lot of people moving into our community. We run a program the hard way, but it makes the success even better. It’s a harder job than people probably realize, but it’s very rewarding to see kids in our community grow and have success. Seeing kids grow all the way from Pee-Wee through their senior years is awesome, and we have so many of our players that stay up to date on Comet football after they’re done!

What is the toughest part of being the head football coach at West Carter High School?

I think it’s similar to all small, rural, county schools in that you have years where you’re young as a whole, inexperienced, or have a smaller roster. Being a coach at a small school can be a humbling experience. You can play in a state championship game one year and win two games for an entire season in the span of 2–3 years. 

What do you look for as far as non-district games go?

If we can, we look for EKC games. If not, we look for similar-sized schools. We try to find teams that will prepare us for who we will see in district play or in the playoffs. 

Where is the best local place to grab a full meal?

For a small town, Olive Hill has great food options. Giovannis, Tyler’s, Tre Fratelli, Tres Hermanos, Walkers, and Trail Town are all really good. 

What is your favorite college football matchup to watch?

Miami vs. Florida State... Go Canes!

Where is your favorite vacation place?

Any of the beaches in the Clearwater Area.

Link to pics that the coach sent for the interview
https://daveburnworth.blogspot.com/2024/05/2024-inteerview-with-west-carter-ky.html

For me, the plan is to head to Boyd County to see the new stadium and meet up with the coach from West Carter.

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Name

Baron Hardesty

School

Bullitt East High School (KY)

Positions played

Defensive End, Linebacker

Graduating year

2026

Height and weight

6', 3" (245 lbs)

What is the best part of being a student-athlete at Bullitt East High School?

I get to play with a lot of teammates I have played with for years and get to experience Big Class 6A football games close to home.

What is the toughest part of being a high school student-athlete?

I probably manage my time between football, academics, work, family, and off-season training. I am stretched pretty thin most of the time.

Last year, your team finished 9-3, losing to Pleasure Park Ridge, Male, and Ryle. Which of those teams was the best, in your opinion?

Male

Who was the best player that you have ever faced in a game, along with the reasons you believe he was so good?

Probably Isaac "Spike" Sowells of Male; he just had solid technique. Also, a couple I faced in different camps had massive size and good technique.

Where on the field do you feel you are the best?

In the box, setting the edge and giving a rush to the QB

What has been your most memorable moment as a football player?

Winning the 2022 State Championship here at Bullitt East against Male.

As an athlete, what has been your most embarrassing moment?

Probably this past season, I had such a deep cut on my chin from my chin strap that every game got reopened and bled everywhere every Friday night.

What are your goals for the 2024 season?

I would like to personally break the school sack record as a junior, make the All-State Defense 1st Team, and have my team make it to state again.

What will you miss the most from the 2024 class? 

We had a couple guys in our senior class that were just uplifting for our team and made Friday nights more exciting, like Kayden Jenkins and Gabe Henderson (unfortunately both had their seasons cut short mid-season with injuries last year), but they were great on the sidelines for our team.

What is the worst part of practice? 

Offensive days are less exciting for my position. Key reads are probably my most dreaded practice moments.

How long have you played football, along with the reasons you continue to play?

I started football at 8 years old, so 8 years total. I continue to play because I have dedicated so much of my youth to building the player I am now, and I continue to learn and grow every day. I am on a mission to be my best.

What is your go-to snack?

Frozen pizza

Do you watch horse racing?

No, not at all. Not even on Derby 

What is the worst kind of music to have played during warm-ups over the PA system?

Radio Country songs, music specifically Zack Bryan

Link to pics that go with the interview sent by the player

https://daveburnworth.blogspot.com/2024/05/2024-interview-with-baron-hardesty-from.html

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Matthew Chandler 

Hazard High School 

Head Football Coach

KCU/Morehead State University 

First, congratulations on getting the Hazard job!

What makes being the head coach at Hazard High School so special for you?

Growing up in the mountains and just having a love for mountain football, taking this job was a no-brainer for me. I grew up watching my uncle walk the sidelines at places like Hazard and Whitesburg and all of those places when he was a head coach at Whitesburg High School. So even though I’ve never been personally connected to Hazard specifically, it represents as a program something really personal for me, and it’s an honor to be a part of it. Knowing my two sons get to watch their dad live out that kind of dream means the world to me.

When you first met with the team, what was the first thing you said to them?

Just how excited I was to get started and how much work we had to do. They’ve been great and have absolutely worked their tails off, and it’s put us way ahead of schedule from a cultural standpoint.

What offense and defense will you run?

On offense, we will try to keep things simple. Try to utilize a lot of formations and motions to run a few concepts that we are really good at in multiple ways. We will use a lot of spread sets, but I’m an o-line guy, so I take a lot of pride in my teams being able to be physical up front and run the football as well. Defensively, we will operate out of a base-odd front (3–4). I think at the 1A level, you typically have more linebackers and DB-type players than you do with multiple or versatile guys up front. Plus, it fits our philosophy of not having to play all of our guys up front both ways the whole game.

Will you have an open competition as to who is starting, or will you stay with the returning starters?

There will be 22 wide open spots across the board. We’ve emphasized to our guys that everyone earns everything. And starting isn’t as important as how much you play. In 1A football, I’m a big believer that however many guys are capable of giving you reps, how many do you need to play? If I can steal reps with capable backups in the first three quarters of a game to be fresh in the fourth, that’s a huge advantage for us.

What are your thoughts on playing in a bowl game?

I love the early-season Bowl games. We played in multiple bowl games at Franklin County, and we actually will be playing in the Recreation Bowl to open the 2025 and 2026 seasons. I think they’re a great way to celebrate the opening of the season, and you get some really unique or cool matchups out of them.

What will you look for as far as opponents go in non-district games?

There’s certainly some challenging games across the board. Corbin is obviously a huge challenge, but all of our non-district opponents are going to be teams that we have to be mentally and physically prepared for to compete and give ourselves a chance to win.

What will a typical practice look like for you as the head coach?

We will practice fast and be efficient. Our guys will know that we have a very specific plan that involves individual positions, groups, and teamwork. We want to coach on the move and get as many quality reps as possible. Last year, it was not out of the ordinary at Franklin County for us to run 70+ offensive plays on our offensive emphasis days alone in 50–55 minutes. We will utilize that same tempo and efficiency.

What will you try to do to get the numbers up for the football team?

We’ve done a really good job of building up our roster so far, and our numbers should be okay. Being in small school football, it’s always something you have to be very intentional about. Part of that is doing everything with a purpose and communicating to everyone individually what their roles are and how important they are to team success. 

What are your thoughts on girls playing on the football team?

I have never coached a team with a female athlete playing football. But as I say with every student athlete, if you can play, you can play! Obviously, there are some physical limitations that come into play as far as girls and football, but if a female athlete came out and proved they could do it, that wouldn’t be any different to me than a male athlete doing the same thing.

If you could make one change when it comes to Kentucky High School football, what would it be?

You hear so many people complaining about RPI and the playoffs. It’s exhausting to hear all of it. I personally think we are in a really good place as a state football team. I don’t think I would make any drastic changes. I would like to see our kids have more opportunities to throw 7 on 7 in June. There’s also summer basketball going on, so I think you would have to limit the number of competitions (kind of like limiting how many scrimmages you get) to avoid making kids pick between the two.

What are your thoughts about student-athletes playing more than one sport?

I love it. I think specialization has cut down on the number of “ball players,” you see. Kids have fewer and fewer opportunities to be put in physically stressful situations where they’re forced to compete when they specialize. Give me a team full of guys who will dive for a loose ball or slide into foul ground for a third out, and we can win some football games! I do think carving out time to get in the weight room while playing multiple sports is a true game changer, though. That’s when you are really onto something.

What was the last book you read, along with the author?

American Commando by John Wukovitz. It’s a biography of Evans Carlson, who a lot of people consider the first “Special Forces” commander in US history. I’m a big history guy.

What is the one sport you cannot watch on TV?

Believe it or not, I would say college basketball if it’s not Kentucky playing.

If you could pick another time period to live in, when would it be, along with the reason?

The frontier era of Daniel Boone and James Harrod settling Kentucky has always fascinated me. I’d like to have known what it was like to see Kentucky before it was settled.

Link with pics the coach sent to go with his article.

https://daveburnworth.blogspot.com/2024/05/2024-interview-with-new-hazard-ky-head.html

How long have you played football, and why do you continue to play?

I’ve played my whole life.

Which game are you looking forward to the most this season, along with the reason why?

Pikeville because I want to prove everyone wrong.

What did you learn about yourself during the last season that you can use this season to be more successful?

Leave it all on the field and give 110% at all times.

What is the strongest part of your game?

My shiftiness and heart.

Who is the toughest teammate to go up against in practice?

Gaige Logan 

Entering your Sophmore season What are your goals for the 2024 season?

To finish the season knowing I gave it my all

According to your Hudl page, you are listed as a wide receiver and cornerback. Of those two positions, which one do you feel is the toughest to prepare for?

Definitely corner.

Up until now, what has been your biggest moment as an athlete?

Scoring my first varsity touchdown.

How much time do you spend watching game films on your own?

The day before games, I’ll sit down and watch films for hours.

What are you going to miss the most from the 2024 class?

The players 

If you could pick another time period to live in, when would it be, along with the reason?

The 80’s because it seemed a lot more fun.

What is your favorite type of music?

Country

Have you ever been to a University of Pikeville football game?
 
Yes!!!

Link with pics with the interview

https://daveburnworth.blogspot.com/2024/05/2024-interview-with-very-focused-connor.html

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