Don Barnes
Bishop O'Gorman High School
Impact Statement
“I learned my game by watching others and just love all the aspects of the game–the athleticism and competitiveness it requires to win.” -Don Barnes
Biography
In two separate coaching stints – from 1972-79 and 1995 to the present – Barnes’s boys’ teams at O’Gorman High have finished in the state’s Class A top 10 every one of his 18 seasons. Fourteen of those were top five finishes and his 2003 team won the state title. He also coached the girls’ tennis team from 1976-79, winning the state title each of those four seasons.
Barnes was inducted into the South Dakota Tennis Hall of Fame in 2001 and was voted the Coach of the Year in 2003. His wife, Kate, has coached O’Gorman’s girls teams for five seasons, leading them to two runner-up state finishes, two third-place finishes and a fourth-place finish.
Since being honored, Barnes continues to coach at Bishop O’Gorman, one of the elite schools in South Dakota.
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