Student Athlete Spotlight: Jabin Barnes
Yorktown High School senior Jabin Barnes has been immersed in sports his entire life. Through hard work and the encouragement of his parents and coaches, he has risen to become a top player in both football and basketball. At the same time, he has been a humble leader and an example of what can be achieved.
Barnes began playing soccer, baseball and basketball when he was four years old. Later, at age six, he began playing flag football. Early in his high school career he played three major sports but eventually dropped baseball to focus on football and basketball.
“I’ve been in sports ever since I can remember,” he says. “Both my parents played sports and in my baby pictures I’m holding a ball. Nothing is better than a good basketball atmosphere, but basketball is a confidence-based game. It is somewhat difficult to stay confident. My parents, teammates and coach have helped. But I truly love football. I live, breathe, eat it, talk about it and train all the time.”
Barnes is the captain of the basketball team and has been a starter since his sophomore year. Speed, athleticism and his mid-range jump shot have shaped Barnes into a topnotch power forward on the floor. His focus on rebounds and passing plus defense have allowed him to rack up impressive statistics.
During his senior year, he surpassed his junior year statistic averages. Currently he is averaging 11.6 points and 2.7 assists per game. In addition, he has a record of 5.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals in each game.
On the football field Barnes plays outside linebacker on the defensive line and is a tight end on offense. As a linebacker he plays the edges of defense to force a runner back into the middle of play and prevent them from exiting to the outside of the action. As a tight end on offense, his job is to catch passes from quarterbacks or running backs but also block defensive linemen.
“The most challenging part of football is getting through the offense,” he says. “Playing on the defense line is tough. It seems easy on paper but when you really look at it, you are going against guys that may weigh 30 or 50 pounds more.”
According to Yorktown football coach Mike Wilhelm, Barnes worked hard on the field. As a defensive end, Barnes achieved 11 Solo tackles, 61 assist tackles and over eight sacks. In the tight end position, he had 16 catches for 234 yards and made two touch downs. In addition to being captain he was Hoosier Heritage All-Conference and IFCA Class 4A All-State Tight End, Region 5 All-State Defensive End, Academic All-State. He was Team Captain, co-MVP and a Muncie Star Press Player of the Week.
Along the way, Barnes had to face some physical challenges. A partial calf tear caused him to miss a rivalry game against Delta High School. In his junior year, he missed action for a couple of weeks when he suffered from a concussion after a tricky tackle situation.
Besides sports, Barnes is active in other activities. He is part of Fellowship of Christian athletes, a club that is open to all and usually has an attendance of 150 students each week. Every other week Bible Club meets, and Barnes makes his attendance a priority.
“The truth is, I don’t like being in the spotlight,” he says. “The biggest, most important part of my life is Jesus. I wouldn’t be anywhere if I weren’t rooted in Jesus and the glory of God.”
He participates in Yorktown High School’s Mentorship Program. As a master mentor he leads other junior and senior mentors. Each mentor two or three freshman students.
“Entering high school is different for a lot of kids,” Barnes says. “Some are natural students due to hard work, maturity and the support of good parents. Others are from broken homes and often miss assignments. But even if they messed up in middle school, they enter high school with a clean slate. There are plenty of resources and people to help them. Regardless of what happened in the past, they will do well if they come in with a good mind set.”
Barnes shares that in his own live, he has been blessed with a lot of mentors. In particular, he is grateful to coaches Matt Moulton and Justin Ullom. He also cites youth pastor Carl Torres as stable sounding board when he has faced personal losses in his life.
This fall, Barnes will be playing football at Indiana Wesleyan University. He will major in nursing. His end goal is to be a mental health nurse practitioner.
“If I was going to give advice to a middle schooler who is hoping to play high school football I would say work hard,” he adds. “I would tell them that winning isn’t loyal but hard work is loyal to everyone. If you are hardworking, consistent, a leader, understand you have influence on those around you and are coachable then you have a chance to be good player.”
