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Whitehall-Yearling hires 2015 graduate Cam Barker to lead football program
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- Whitehall-Yearling hires 2015 graduate Cam Barker to lead football program
As an assistant coach and former player in the program, Cam Barker believes he can lead a turnaround for the Whitehall-Yearling football team.
Barker, 27, took over the Rams on Thursday after his hiring was approved by the school board. He succeeds Rod Lightfoot, who stepped down after 10 seasons .
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Whitehall went 50-51 under Lightfoot, finishing with a winning record six times but going 1-9 in each of the past two seasons. His best record came in 2018, when the Rams went 10-2 and won a second consecutive MSL-Ohio title.
Barker was an assistant under Lightfoot the past four seasons.
Cam Barker, a 2015 Whitehall graduate, is the school's new football coach.
"Coach Lightfoot sees the vision, he sees where I'm heading," Barker said. "That played a huge part in the transition. The last few months we've talked, and he said if it's going to be anybody, it's going to be you. ... He allowed me to take on a few extra things with his guidance. He gave me the opportunity to fail or succeed. Working with him has been such a blessing."
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Athletic director Bill Hughett is confident Barker will lead a resurgence.
"I know this is going to turn around," Hughett said. "I'm really excited about this hire. I think he's going to do a great job. We have to surround him with the right people, and that's my goal."
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A 2015 graduate of Whitehall, Barker played for the Rams under then-coach Jake Kuhner and Lightfoot, who was an assistant. Kuhner is now the coach at Canal Winchester.
"I've been able to be around some great mentors like Rod Lightfoot and Jake Kuhner," Barker said. "Bill has been a good source of mentorship as well. It's given me a bigger perspective with some of those guys and being able to understand."
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Barker earned Division III first-team all-state as a senior linebacker. He was also named to The Dispatch's All-Metro team and was district Defensive Player of the Year that season.
Barker went on to play at Division II Ashland, helping to lead the Eagles to three playoff appearances and two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles.
He then was an assistant coach under Kuhner at Watkins Memorial for two seasons before returning to Whitehall in 2021 to serve as an assistant under Lightfoot.
"My experiences in high school and college have driven me to do what I'm doing today," Barker said. "It's to show these boys in Whitehall that you're capable of obtaining some of these things. It was a journey to get to where I was and to where I am now."
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A former second-grade teacher at Beechwood Elementary School in Whitehall, Barker is in his first year as the Alternative Learning Program coordinator for the school district.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Whitehall-Yearling High School hires Cam Barker as football coach
