LOVE AND FOOTBALL: The long journey of a Houston assistant coach

HOUSTON — Saturday, the Houston High School football program will make school history.

The Hawks will play for a state championship for the first time ever. Houston’s title shot comes in its 20th year as a football program. Most of the team features players and coaches who have worked for the past few seasons to get to where they are now.

But for one Houston assistant coach, it’s been a much longer journey.

Longtime Houston defensive coordinator Jared Barrett was there at the beginning. He was a member of the first Hawks football team to ever take the field. Barrett is the first Houston football player to play at the college level. Many of Barrett’s biggest achievements in life have some connection to football and the Houston Hawks program. The opportunity to play football helped Barrett pick a career path.

Barrett even married his wife Tami last fall on the turf of Houston High’s field.

The Houston High football program’s impact on Barrett’s life is undeniable.

“I’ve been a Hawk all my life,” Barrett said recently. “It’s something I live and breathe.”

The beginning

Barrett had always loved football. But growing up in the Big Lake area, the 1998 graduate of Houston High never had an opportunity to play organized football. Then finally in the fall of 1997 during Barrett’s senior year of high school, the Hawks football squad made its debut.

But Barrett nearly missed his chance to participate. That’s until a physical education teacher at Houston High stepped up to help out.

“The first year of football there, I couldn’t afford it,” Barrett said.

Barrett said his former teacher, Steve Olsen, made sure Barrett could be part of the team. That generosity is the reason Barrett opted to go for teaching and physical education as a career path. He wanted to pay it forward.

“I wanted to be able to help out somebody like he held me out,” Barrett said.

Olsen was among those who helped shaped Barrett into the person he is today.

Another longtime Houston educator, Norm Bouchard, has also played a major role in Barrett’s life. Bouchard was an assistant on that first Houston coaching staff in 1997. After seeing what Barrett could do on the football field, Bouchard made a call to his brother Fred, who was then the head coach at Culver-Stockton College in Missouri.

“I said this kid’s as raw as raw gets, but he’s intense, a good football player who hits hard and works hard,” Bouchard said of Barrett, who played middle linebacker with the Hawks.

Despite Barrett’s single year of experience in organized football at any level, Fred Bouchard brought Barrett to Culver-Stockton. Barrett spent three years as a college football player, seeing ample time at defensive end and linebacker.

“He did good down there,” Bouchard said.

Barrett also used the opportunity to earn a degree in physical and health education.

Coach Barrett

Shortly after returning to the Valley from college, Barrett would receive another opportunity. After Bouchard took over as head coach of the Houston football program prior to the 2004 season, Bouchard gave the 23-year-old Barrett the chance to lead the team’s defense.

Bouchard said there were several reasons why he wanted his former player to be his first defensive coordinator.

“He knew the terminology, my system. That was one thing,” Bouchard said. “He was part of that original team. He brought that connection. I always liked to have that connection for the kids.”

And that connection remains.

Since 2004, as players and coaches have come and gone, Barrett has remained the constant. Barrett’s in his 13th season as defensive coordinator.

“I love Houston football, it’s been a lot of fun,” said Barrett, also a teacher in the district for the last 12 years.

When Bouchard decided to step down as head coach of the Hawks eight years later, he urged his successor to keep Barrett in the defensive coordinator position.

“I said Jared’s defenses are always pretty solid. He kind of maintained the philosophy we had,” Bouchard said. “Jared is the bridge from the old to the new.”

Bouchard said he’s seen Barrett continue to develop as a coach. While Barrett maintains some of the philosophies the Hawks embraced during the early days of Houston football, Bouchard said he’s seeing Barrett bring his own new ideas to the defense.

“I’m very proud of him to see him do it on his own,” Bouchard said.

Mentor to brother

Bouchard began as Barrett’s teacher and coach. But now they see each other as family.

“Norm is one of the best people. I look up to him as a mentor,” Barrett said. “He’s helped me out with everything. With life’s struggles, he’s been there for me. He’s been a best friend. Anything I need, Norm is there.”

Bouchard said he feels tremendous honor to know that he’s played that type of a role in Barrett’s life.

“It’s hard to put into words. I’m very close to Jared. We call each other brother. I truly believe he’s as much a part of my family as anybody,” Bouchard said.

Sept. 19, 2015

On Sept. 19, 2015, as he celebrated the biggest day of his life, Barrett had his mentor, his brother, Bouchard there to share it with him. As Barrett and his wife, Tami, exchanged their wedding vows between white pillars set up right in the center of the giant red Houston Hawks logo in the middle of the football field, Bouchard was under the arch, as the officiate of the wedding.

“I don’t use the word love easily. He’s not just a coach, he’s a friend, a brother. I love him as an individual and a friend, and I’m proud to be part of anything he does in his life,” Bouchard said.

As Barrett married Tami, he was also able to combine the two biggest things in his life on that Saturday in September.

“I love my wife. I love Houston football,” Barrett said.

Barrett said he proposed to Tami Christmas of 2014.

“A week later she said, let’s have a football wedding,” Barrett said. “I said, I’m happy to say you (are going to be) my wife.”

On their wedding day, both Jared and Tami donned the Houston school colors, red, white and black. Each wore Barrett’s high school number, 77. Those in the wedding party traded tuxedos for jerseys. The ring bearer wore the stripes of a football referee. The flower girl was dressed in a Houston cheerleader uniform.

“It was the best day of my life,” Barrett said.

The 2016 Hawks

Barrett’s defense played a major role in Houston’s trip to its first state title game in school history. The Hawks allowed the fewest points in Alaska’s small-schools class, 112. More than half of Houston’s opponents were held to six points or less in a game. Eielson scored 27 against the Hawks during Houston’s lone Aurora Conference loss. But the Ravens put 42 on the scoreboard against Houston last year.

“We held three teams to negative yards until our (junior varsity players) got in there. That’s a pretty performance by your coordinator,” Houston’s current head coach, Glenn Nelson, said of Barrett, who was recently named the Aurora Conference Assistant Coach of the Year. “He puts all the right kids exactly where they need to be.”

Nelson said Barrett has a variety of attributes that has allowed him to have success running the Houston defense.

“He’s so good with the kids. He does really well teaching them. He’s an elementary teacher so he has that real soft side. But at the same time there’s a fear of being on the wrong side of Barrett,” Nelson said.

Through his career, Barrett has always dreamed about the Hawks playing for a state championship one day.

And Saturday at 4 p.m. at Palmer High School as the Hawks line up against rival Eielson, that time will finally come for Houston.

“I’ve always envisioned it,” Barrett said. “It’s really great to be there now.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.