By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Derrick Barker, who guided Bedford North Lawrence football for four seasons, has stepped down as the head coach.
Barker, the ninth coach in the 51-year history of the program, posted a 19-24 record during his tenure, including a Hoosier Hills Conference title in 2022. The Stars won postseason games in three consecutive seasons for the first time. He also served as an assistant coach under predecessor Steve Weber.
“It’s a very tough decision,” Barker said. “I’ve been trying to convince myself, change my mind that I could make it work. It’s something I’ve been fighting with. It comes down to stuff outside of football, new requirements with my job and things that have taken time away. It’s not an easy job, something I’m very passionate about, and I want to do it the right way.
“At this time, I need to take a step back and decide what the future looks like. I didn’t want to be half in and half out. At the end of the day, it’s what is best for me, what’s best for my family. And hopefully it’s what is best for the program going forward.”
Barker followed in the footsteps of Gil Fey, Terry Willoughby, Marc Anderson, Dave Conrad, Randy Johnson, Jeff Callahan, Bret Szabo and Weber.
“When I first came to BNL, I was just getting into coaching,” he said. “It was something I wanted to try, and I immediately fell in love with it, working with the kids and trying to develop them as people and athletes, trying to make the program as successful as we could.
“I think we made progress. A big thing for me is always leaving things better than you found it, and the program is in a better spot. Coach Weber taught me a lot, and it’s all I’ve known. I still love the game, the kids and the program. I won’t go anywhere and ever coach against them, and I look forward to seeing them do great things.”
Barker went 4-6 in 2021, then posted back-to-back winning seasons (6-5 in 2022, 7-4 in ‘23) before slipping to 2-9 last season.
“We had two winning seasons, and during the other seasons we did some really good things,” Barker said. “And that’s what matters the most. When I took the job, (former athletic director) Jeff Callahan asked me how I would measure success. I told him it would be in the things that we did in the community, in the classroom, helping kids get where they wanted to be in their next step of life. The things I’m most proud of is the work the kids put in, and the coaches put in, that we could say we helped them along the way,
“Winning games is fun, and at the end of the day that’s what you put the time in for. We had some great times there, winning a conference title and some sectional games. But it was always about more than the wins and losses. Hopefully the kids can all say that being part of the program, and having me as a coach, helped them get where they wanted in life.”
BNL’s overall record now stands at 241-271.
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