Barbero hired as Charleroi football coach
The search for a new high school football coach began in late February for Charleroi High School athletic director Brady Barbero.
It turned out that Barbero didn’t have to look farther than in the mirror to find the person to fill that job.
Barbero will return to the sidelines as he was expected to be hired as the Cougars’ football coach at Tuesday night’s school board meeting.
“The timing just had to be right,” said Barbero, who also teaches in the district. “It wouldn’t have been right if it wasn’t at Charleroi. Everything just fell into place. My family felt like it was the right move. Once you stop coaching you start to miss it. I’m excited to get back out there.”
Barbero spent seven seasons as an assistant at California High School before being promoted to head coach prior to the 2009 season. In four seasons at California, Barbero went 19-19, including a 7-3 season in 2011. He resigned as the Trojans’ coach in January 2013.
He then spent three years as an assistant for Nick Milchovich at Ringgold.
Barbero takes over for Lance Getsy, who resigned in February after going 17-5 in two seasons at Charleroi. Getsy led the Cougars to back-to-back playoff appearances, including a conference championship and a WPIAL Class 2A semifinal appearance in 2018.
“The football program has been successful over the last several years,” Barbero said. “We’ve had some good teams come through here. Once Lance resigned and moved on, it definitely sparked interest in getting back on the sidelines.”
Barbero is in his second year as the athletic director, a role he plans on keeping. He has been a teacher in the district since 2003.
In his assistant coaching roles, Barbero has coached quarterbacks, wide receivers and has been a coordinator on both sides of the ball. He is planning on running the offense at Charleroi.
The coronavirus pandemic has presented a challenge to many schools and new coaches, but Barbero believes already knowing many of his players will go a long way.
The PIAA isn’t allowing high school teams to have offseason workouts until at least July 1.
“I definitely think that’s going to help out a lot,” Barbero said. “It’s a different time. Every coach wants to be out there. I’m going to get on the computer right away and start doing some virtual stuff and introducing things.”