Everybody’s wrestling life has a different origin story. For Scott Barker, his wrestling life began in Wray, Colorado — where wrestling rules all — with a pair of cut-off blue jeans and a plain tank top. “I remember pretty vividly, I was out in the front yard playing and Doug House was driving by,” Barker said. “He yelled out and asked if I wanted to go to a wrestling practice. I went in and asked my mom, got on a pair of cut-off jeans, and went off to practice.” “A few weeks later I won my first tournament despite losing one match. I thought, ‘Wrestling is pretty cool!’”

Today, Barker’s wrestling path has brought him to the Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award presented by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame - Colorado Chapter. Barker ultimately won two state championships while wrestling at Wray before going on to compete at Colorado Mesa University (then Mesa State). As a Maverick, Barker qualified for nationals twice and earned All-American honors once with a fifth-place finish in the nation in 1988. Eventually, he found his footing in the coaching corner, serving in various capacities at stops including Colorado Mesa, Palisade High School, Overland, Smoky Hill, and finally serving as head coach at Mountain View High in Loveland from 2000-2021. In those 34 years of coaching, Barker had state qualifiers in each season, and at least one state place winner in all years but two. He also helped kickstart the youth program at Mountain View and served as the state rep for the National Wrestling Coaches Association for a decade. “Success does not come quick in the sport of wrestling,” Barker said. “It’s a very long process to try to build teams up. You start with youth programs, build those up, and do all you gotta do to be successful.” At Mountain View, he also coached his own children – twins Braden and Kaley – in one of the more unique situations a coach has had in Colorado history. “For the first few years, I didn’t get to see them wrestle a whole lot,” Barker said. “It was probably a good thing. We’re all highly competitive, and it was beneficial for them to go develop their stature and style on their own.” His daughter, Kaley, entered high school before girls wrestling was an officially sanctioned sport in Colorado – meaning she was competing right alongside her brother Braden on the boys’ squad. One of the highlights for Barker was seeing both kids qualify for the state tournament, including Kaley – just the seventh girl to qualify for the boys’ tournament at the time in 2018 – winning her first-round match in decisive manner. That year Braden made it to the Class 4A state finals, coming up just short and emphasizing the emotional roller coaster ride for a wrestling coach and parent.

“With wrestling you get the highest of highs and lowest of lows, both as a wrestler and as a coach,”

Barker said. “I don’t know if I’ve processed (the Hall of Fame) just yet. It’s still kind of surreal. But it’s a great honor.”

(Presenter-Robert Smith)