By Phil Greenough
Watertown High School ‘77
With plans for a testimonial dinner in celebration of Coach John Barbati on November 26, it’s a good time to reflect on the impact he made on me and the many kids who played for him over his 24 years as head football coach at Watertown High School. It’s hard to believe 50 years have passed, but I still can remember clearly lessons Coach imparted that helped me and so many others succeed under his tutelage.
Some quick background: Barbati, a star quarterback at St. Michael’s College in Vermont, found his way to Watertown High School to become head coach in 1969, retiring in 1992 with a winning percentage of .595 and four championships (1973, 1976, 1977 and 1983) in the hyper-competitive Middlesex League. A member of Massachusetts High School Football Coaches’ Association Hall of Fame and the WHS Hall of Fame, Coach Barbati would be remembered most as a master motivator.
When Coach Barbati arrived, Watertown was a rougher place, a bit downtrodden, grown rusty from its industrial peak. The high school football team was in the doldrums too, until this human kinetic force arrived. Coach recognized the core, the strength of families deeply entrenched in the community. Someone needed to tap the talent and support, and he was the guy to do it. Barbati convinced us we could win if we worked harder, hit harder, kept things simple. At times it seemed our competition knew our plays as well as we did. And still, they couldn’t stop us because we were unified. There’s no better experience than being in a team huddle when a lineman says, “I got this guy: come over me.” It’s even better when the entire team feels that way. When the whole is greater than this sum of its parts, that’s a football team. And that’s what Coach instilled.
Coach Barbati respected all his players, not just the stars or the starters. I still remember him methodically listing every senior in the Watertown Press after our title-clinching victory at Belmont. It was always team first – from the bottom to the top of the roster, everyone was treated the same. Respect the kids who show up for practice every day because they are as vital to the team’s success as anyone else. If there was any doubt, he taught us to respect each other.
Few people knew Coach and I had clandestine meetings at a diner in Belmont the summer before my senior year. We had a very inexperienced team entering the year, and we needed to be prepared. After he treated me to breakfast, we’d map drills on the back of placemats for our Captains’ practices at Victory Field. As the son of coach and later to be one myself, I loved that he trusted me when he delegated that responsibility.
On more than a few occasions, Coach Barbati made it his business to dress me down in front of the team. I recall him saying one practice I was playing like an old lady. Looking back, I think an old lady might have won 6 games (we won 8) that season if she could only stretch her arm out enough to hand if off to Manny Bougoulas or Fabian Flori. At the time, though, I didn’t like it: his words hurt my pride. I think he knew because later he pulled me aside to tell me that a coach who demands more from the QB gets more from the team. Coach made sure I was grounded, and he made me a better leader in the process.
Coach Barbati had a wonderful sense of humor and boisterous laugh. I remember during a timeout in the game at packed Victory Field: Coach met me on the field at the hash marks to discuss our strategy for this crucial moment – short yardage, close score. He doffed his red and white baseball cap, rubbed his wrist over his head, put his arm around my shoulder and pondered his play calling options for all to see. And then he told me to run the “42 Fire,” a simple dive to our fullback who probably had run the same play 20 times that afternoon. Before I jogged back to the huddle, Coach pulled me closer, looked me in the eye, smiled broadly and asked, “Do you think we know how to do that?” We knew how to do that.
We all face failure and losses: that’s when we need support. After the worst loss of my WHS career my junior year, Coach called me at home that night and exhorted me to come back strong. It was small solace but meaningful. A year later, when we had our biggest win of my career against the same team, he called, and we celebrated together. I still cherish his display of love and concern.
In her best-selling book “Grit,” Angela Duckworth describes how passion and perseverance, rather than talent, are the keys to success for individuals and teams. Coach Barbati taught us that five decades ago. As a QB, Coach expected me to be on the field first and stay late for extra work. That stuck with me. Modest as they may be, the successes I’ve known have been built on this simple lesson: nothing beats hard work, especially when you love what you’re doing.
Coach Barbati’s pep talks before the games were legendary. One of his most memorable concluded with “Watertown is Watertown.” Couldn’t argue with that. His message simply was to take pride in your team, your school and your town. We understood we had a responsibility to do our best and be our best, not just for ourselves but for those we represented.
More than anything else Coach Barbati was an optimist who saw opportunities everywhere, always. He expected more and helped his players do more. He opened doors for me and so many others. He drilled into us core values like humility, diligence, decency and accountability. The world’s a better place for the values Coach Barbati embraced and instilled.
Head coach, life coach.
Note: Former Watertown High School Head Football Coach John Barbati is being honored on November 26th with a Testimonial Dinner at The Watertown Sons & Daughters of Italy Lodge. Tickets are available by clicking here.