Freshman makes impact on varsity basketball team

Competing to be the best in sports is becoming harder and harder as times go on. Athletes need to change with the times and adapt to ensure they stay on top in the sport. Training, eating, and using their resources are all things that athletes need to do. For Donnie Barfield, a freshman at Westside high school, these are all things that are a constant in his mind. 

Barfield is playing his first season of high school basketball on the varsity team. Even though he is early into his career, he has already played in 14 games. The freshman has helped lead the Warriors to a No.7 ranking in the Class A top ten. Westside currently has a record of 13-5 on the season.

Making varsity as a freshman would be a great accomplishment in the eyes of most. To play at the level Barfield is playing at and to do it as a freshman is truly remarkable. So clearly it means a lot to him. 

“Ever since I was a little kid I had always had an image of being the type of guy that would impress on the court, “ Barfield said. “I watched my favorite players on tv and I aspired to be like them so much. I just think back to all the nights that I was putting work in and I can’t help but smile at where I am today and how far I have come.”

Barfield has scored 29 points this season. The 6-foot-3 forward has connected on 11-29 attempts from the field. His work ethic is evidence of where his success came from. He follows a strict routine and does not let anything get in the way of achieving his life long goal. 

“I kind of just like to put the blinders on and just work,” Barfield said. ”Not really let anything distract me from my goal. I have always been willing to do anything if it meant I stayed focused. I have always looked up to my dad and his aspect not only about basketball but about life. He always thought that you could have anything you wanted if you had the stomach to go for it. I think he kind of instilled that in me at a young age and I just kind of went with it. But looking back that is some of the best advice I have ever been given. ”

Barfield started playing basketball in preschool and ever since then has been infatuated with the game. He began to be put through the ringer at a young age, playing his first game at the age of six. Barfield went from rec league, to club league, to AAU, to where he is today. All throughout growing a name for himself in the community he grew up in.

“I started playing rec league for the YMCA when I was six and that went just about as well as it does for any six-year-old,” Barfield said. “ I really noticed that I was out performing with the kids around me, when I was probably eight or nine. I think I was maybe playing for Factory or OSA and that is when I really started to show out. I had parents asking for my birth certificate at tournaments and I vividly remember having to sit out the game because the ref didn’t think I was in fifth grade.”

Performing at a level you’re comfortable in is great. But what separates the good from the bad is performing at a level you’re not comfortable with. Going above and beyond, but more importantly showing everybody around you that your success is not a fluke. 

“My first varsity game was like an alarm clock. It made me realize that I was in a different place now. This isn’t AAU where I can dunk on the kids who are 5’4”. This was a little more high stakes than that. Odvody and Caleb Benning were a big help making me feel at home and just making sure I didn’t get too much stage fright in my first game. It was definitely a humbling experience but I quickly became acclimated to the new environment.”

Barfield and the Warriors will host No. freshman makes impact on varsity basketball teamfreshman makes impact on varsity basketball team6 Lincoln East on Tuesday, Feb.7.