Former Tuba City coach takes reins at Hamilton

WINDOW ROCK

The thought of leaving Tuba City never crossed Harlan Barlow’s mind.

With family ties in the Shonto and Tonalea-Red Lake areas, Barlow had planned on continuing to raise his family in Tuba City with his wife and three kids.

He had also planned on starting his 17th season with the Tuba City High volleyball program but those plans were altered at the onset of the global pandemic last spring.

With the uncertainty of the coronavirus, Barlow had to vacate the house he was renting in Tuba City, as the homeowners wanted their house back.

“We were dealt with a curveball and it involved our living situation,” he said. “We didn’t have a place to go and we tried to get housing in Tuba City but the offices were closed because of the pandemic.”

Barlow said they had three weeks to decide their living situation and the family looked into relocating to Albuquerque or Provo, Utah.

They also considered moving to the Valley and after weighing their options they settled on staying in Arizona.

“It was mainly based on our network of the people that we knew,” he said. “We had more connections with people down in the Valley so we moved down there.”

And while they had settled on relocating to the Valley, Barlow said his entire family was distraught about the move.

“It was hard to leave under those circumstances,” he said. “I thought we would retire and live in Tuba forever. The pandemic definitely changed our lives and it threw us a curveball. We had to make a change and we had to move forward with it.”

Under his tenure the Warriors captured the state title in 2012 and when he was an assistant under then-coach Evelyn Kiyaani the Tuba City team finished as the 2009 reserve champions.

“As a family we were all heartbroken,” he said. “I was devastated because I had coached the team for 16 years and I was in charge with the program for 10 years. We were going to continue to build the volleyball program so it was hard to leave. It took a lot of time for me to get over it but we had to move forward and make that transition.”

Needless to say, Barlow said the family had some trouble finding a place to live as the height of the pandemic limited their options.

“Finding a place was really stressful,” he said. “We had to do virtual tours because most of the places we went to were closed.”

The family eventually found a home in the Chandler Unified School District as Barlow’s daughter, Melia, was set to start her sophomore year.

With the family residing in the Chandler area, Barlow registered Melia at Hamilton High School and he was eventually hired as the school’s freshmen girls’ coach.

Before taking that job, Barlow earned a coaching position with the Aspire Volleyball Club through his connections with Mesquite High volleyball coach Carlos Flys.

“Everything kind of worked out for me to coach at Hamilton and coach with Aspire,” he said. “My daughter got to play for Hamilton and she got to play with Aspire so everything worked out.”

Not long after coaching the girl’s freshman team, Barlow was asked to take over the boys volleyball program at Hamilton High. And while he is well versed in coaching girls, he had some reservations about starting something new.

Instead of taking over the reins right away, Barlow coached the boys JV team this past spring to get accustomed to game.

“I wanted to get a feel of the boys program because I’ve only coached girls,” he said. “I didn’t want to go into it like cold turkey so I just wanted to analyze the game a bit more because there’s a big difference. They’re faster, taller and they’re very athletic so it’s a different dynamic. It’s a different ballgame but it’s a lot of fun.”

This past spring, Barlow said Perry High, a rival school of Hamilton, captured the 6A boys state title.

“They’re the No. 1 team in the nation,” he said. “Just to see their skills and athleticism is just amazing. As a coach, I’m just in awe with them and I want to build my team and get them to that elite level.”

Having graduated six players this past year, the Hamilton coach said his squad is going to be rebuilding next spring.

“We return five varsity players and two key players,” he said. “We’re returning our libero and one of our middle blockers but we graduated a lot of our experienced players.”

Nonetheless, Barlow said his returning players want to learn.

“They want to get out there and play,” he said. “They just have the compassion to play. They’re very coachable and they’re learning a lot with passing, hitting, blocking and footwork.”

In his first year with the Hamilton boys’ team, Barlow said he’s seen other Valley schools that have Native players on their squad. Witnessing that recalled his memory of wanting to start a boys program at Tuba City High.

“My oldest son was apart of the volleyball program for so long and he wanted me to start a boys team,” Barlow said. “He had a lot of his friends wanting to play too, but it always came down to budget and money.”

As part of the Aspire coaching staff this past summer, Barlow said he coached two boys squad and he feels better equipped to lead the Hamilton team next spring.

“That was a good experience,” he said. “I was able to learn more about the dynamics of the boys game and I think that was the biggest takeaway with the summer league I coached.”

Looking back, Barlow said the pandemic caused a lot of heartaches for his family but in those trying times they were able to adapt. Rather than dwell on it, he said, they have moved on.

“Everything happens for a reason and it’s one of those things that you have accept,” he said. “When a new opportunity arises you have to take it and just go with it.”

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