When an athlete reaches the end of a competitive season, the hope is that his team has won the championship. But the effort and preparation both in mental and physical terms starts several months beforehand. For De La Salle Spartan Michael Barton, he is already beginning that journey.
As a junior this past season, the Spartan linebacker was critical in leading his team to a 14-0 season that ended with a dominating performance against Servite 48-8 in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) state title game. The defense gave up only 139 points over those 14 games that resulted in 10 points per game allowed average. Barton led the team with 72 tackles and added 3 sacks for the season.
Barton attended the US Army All-American event in San Antonio in January. He says, "The San Antonio Army combine was a great experience. I along with Bart Houston attended the combine and it was a great experience to see all of the talent across the country as well as meet kids like myself who loved to compete. As far as the game for next year, I would love to participate, but I'm not too worried about if I do get to play or not, even though it would be a great honor."
After San Antonio, Barton has already been preparing himself mentally and physically for his senior season. Barton says, "As far as mentally next year, how I am preparing is by listing my goals on what I want to accomplish as a player this year and as a team and listing all the ways I will either aid or accomplish these goals. As far as physically, I am lifting every morning before school because I have track practice after school. On weekends, I train for speed and foot quickness."
Next year's team will have to replace Dylan Wynn, Blake Renaud, and Antoine Pickett as they head on to the college level. Barton says of the task of replacing these graduating seniors, "It is going to be tough to replace guys like Wynn, Renaud, and Pickett. Not only for their skills and domination on the field, but more importantly for the intangibles they had such as leadership, effort, and determination. Those guys really sought out a goal at the beginning of the year, and their intangibles are what brought the team together as we all followed their personalities. But I believe that guys like Bart Houston, Justin Walker, and Jeff Houd along with me have adopted the mindsets of last year's captains and are ready to fill in their shoes and have another successful season. We will be working very hard this off-season to reach our ultimate goal which is to win a third straight state title. Whether it is lifting, running, or footwork, we know next year will be tough so every day counts. We also have a few young guys who I am sure will be willing to step up and contribute next year."
With respect to working on becoming a team captain for the Spartans, Barton says, "Next year, I would like to become a captain because it will be my senior year and I have been on varsity for the past two years. I had great captains in the past such as Terron Ward and Chris Lawrence during my sophomore year and Wynn, Renaud, and Simeona during my junior year. Those guys were all great leaders and always gave their best effort in everything they did and made a huge contribution to the team. I'm prepared to do the same next season for my team"
At 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, Barton was measured in San Antonio to run 4.57 seconds in the 40-yard dash, has a shuttle time of 4.21 seconds, can bench press 265 pounds, squat 417 pounds, and has a vertical of 34 inches. He expects underclassmen Michael Hutchings, Austin Hooper, and Sumner Houston to step up on the defense. Barton plans to attend a junior camp at Cal in March and maybe a Stanford Invitational later this spring.
With his size and strength, Barton can play linebacker or safety. When one plays for a team that has won the state title for two straight years, college programs tend to notice the team. Barton is in contact with Air Force, Boise State, Cal, LSU, Oregon, Nebraska, Nevada-Reno, Oregon State, UCLA, Sacramento State, San Jose State, Stanford, Utah State, and Washington.
For De La Salle to three-peat, Barton the Spartan will have to raise his game to another level in his senior year. But he seems to be laying the foundation already for the Spartans to conquer again in Concord.
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