KSU documentary on coaching features Holton's Barta
“It is our job to motivate our kids. It is our job to sell the value of what we do in the classroom. And that value is not necessarily the math. It’s the process, it’s the thinking skills, it’s the failures, it’s the picking yourself up, which is exactly what we’re trying to teach on the football fields.”
Those are the words of Holton High School math teacher and head football coach Brooks Barta, the subject of a recently-released documentary from Kansas State University’s College of Education on the impact that coaches make on young athletes — and how many of those athletes pass on what they’ve learned.
Barta, who will begin his 30th year of coaching at Holton this fall, said the original focus of “The Life Cycle Of Coaching,” a half-hour film that premiered at KSU this past October, was to feature “three coaches at different stages of their careers, illustrating the progression and evolution of coaching over time.” The documentary may be viewed by clicking this link.
It details the impact those who served as Barta’s coaches — including his father, Smith Center High School football coaching legend Roger Barta — had on him, as well as the impact Barta’s had on two of his former football players who have gone on to follow in his footsteps.
“I especially appreciated hearing from former players and students as they shared their experiences,” Barta said of the documentary. “We have had many young people go on to find success in careers in teaching and coaching. Each of us hopes to pass along the same positive impact and guidance that others once provided for us.”
Debbie Mercer, dean of KSU’s College of Education, said Barta, an alumnus of the college, was an ideal choice to be the documentary’s chief subject.
“Coach Barta served as our Alumni Fellow in 2016,” Mercer said. “During that experience, I got to know him and was so impressed with his passion for teaching. This applies in his math classroom and on the football field. We have a coaching certificate program in the college. He models the type of influence a coach can have on developing students and athletes.”
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