Martize Barr Video Highlights

Imagine yourself at 13 years old. Now take that version of yourself, and stick yourself in a high school classroom with freshmen who are usually closer to 15. Pretty daunting, huh?

Now imagine starting at wideout at Coolidge, staring down some of the fiercest safeties in the area in the DCIAA – oh, and you’re still that same 13-year-old kid. Now it’s just downright scary. This has been real life for the now-16-year-old Coolidge senior Martize Barr.

The 5-foot-11 receiver plays every down on a steep learning curve, partially explaining how he comes about the talent he displays while snaring passes over the middle or taking kickoffs to the house for Coolidge.

“He’s very coachable,” Coolidge head coach Jason Lane said. “He never complains about anything. His work ethic is extremely great. He’s coachable to the point that he’ll do anything – whenever I tell him something, I don’t have to tell him more than once.”

Despite all these assets, it takes a compass and a map to find Barr on most recruiting services, but it figures to be because Barr has been overshadowed so far by the more highly-touted 3-star recruit Derrell Person, who is now catching passes for the Lobos of New Mexico.

If you were picking one person who stands to gain the most this season from graduations and an increased role, Barr figures to be near the top of the list.

“I think he’s underrated (by the recruiting services),” Lane said. "I think a lot of people look at him like he’s a second-tier guy. And I think he should be a front-tier recruit. He’s academically sound, and he’s proven he can do it on the field.”

After his junior season, Barr was one of two Coolidge players invited to January's DCSportsFan Football Banquet, which celebrates the area's top football talent. Barr was chozen over fellow teammates Emmanuel Yeager and Person, who both went to New Mexico (Yeager has left, however).

Barr is looking to be a history major at wherever he ends up going to college, and so far he has been offered a scholarship to Kansas, but he is also being recruited by Maryland, Penn State and Michigan.

With his November 4th birthday looming after the season, Barr still manages to be a team leader, even though some of his senior classmates are two and three years older than he is. He has said the team prayer before every game since his sophomore year.

“Unlike a lot of kids that are that young, his maturity level is a lot closer to a kid of 18 or 19,” Lane said. “His teammates don’t judge him as his age. They look at him as being a leader for us in the things he demonstrates on and off the field.”

More importantly, though, he’s flourishing. Last year he led the DCIAA in receiving yards with 1,008, coupled with nine touchdowns. For Lane, history says there’s no reason not to expect more from Barr.

“I expect him to be a leader, and I also expect him to improve on the stats that he had last year,” Lane said. “And last year he led the DCIAA in receiving yards.”