Central Dauphin High School

Former Central Dauphin coach John Barrick gets a fresh start on coaching, life

John Barrick is happy to be starting over.

It’s not that he isn’t proud of his coaching career on the bench of local high school volleyball teams around the area. He still gets a little giddy talking about the 2009 Central Dauphin boys‘ team he took to a state championship.

But the last two years have been strenuous and contentious. There has been very little to smile about for Barrick, who has been dealing with various off-court legal issues that cost him his coaching position.

Now that those problems are behind him, he has been given a second chance to participate in the sport he loves.

Barrick was recently hired by the administration at Trinity High School to take over the girls’ volleyball program. He is replacing former head coach and friend Uros Davidovic, who has relocated to Florida.

“It’s a relief,” Barrick said. “I wasn’t allowed to do what I’ve known for 20 years, which is being involved with a volleyball program. It was a shock to the system.

“To be back in the gym, work with kids and be able to reach kids, it’s definitely a relief. I can be who I am.”

That wasn’t the case after the 2009 fall girls’ season when charges surfaced that Barrick embezzled a disputed amount from a tournament fund while at Central Dauphin. He was dismissed from the program a short time later.

Barrick has maintained his innocence of the charge and finished up the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program by the time the calendar flipped to 2011. All charges against him have been dismissed, and his record was clean as of March of this year.

“It was killing me not being able to coach because I think it is what I do best in life,” Barrick said. “I think I can reach kids, and I’m very competitive. It feels good to be back, and I think it is a perfect match with Trinity.”

In taking over the Shamrocks program, Barrick won’t have to worry about rebuilding. He has a loaded team in place.

Hannah Fry, a lanky 6-3 lefty, is arguably the best player in the Mid-Penn. She is complimented by plenty of talent and incoming ninth graders that have junior Olympic experience.

Barrick knew what he was getting when he applied for the position. The only uncertainty was whether or not he would be considered after his two-year hiatus and legal battles.

Central Dauphin High School graduate inspires wrestling team ...

The West Hanover Township teen, who has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair, has been both wrestling team manager and its inspiration, said Kurtis Terry, high school guidance counselor.
    
Spina bifida is a birth defect in which the bones of the spine do not form properly around the spinal cord.
    
Dippery and 457 other seniors graduated Tuesday night during commencement services at Giant Center in Derry Township.
    
“Her positive attitude has helped the wrestlers achieve many state titles and perform to their best,” Terry said. “Taylor refuses to let her disability hold her back. No matter what is going on in her life, she always has a smile on her face and is so friendly.”
    
Unlike many of the graduates, Dippery only started attending school in the Central Dauphin School District as a sophomore, when her family moved from Lewistown. She considered her first few weeks at Central Dauphin High School challenging.
    
“I stood out because I was in a wheelchair,” Dippery said. “People didn’t know how to reach out to me, so I was ignored. It was hard to make friends at first. But my brother is a wrestler so I went to the wrestling team. I did video, kept statistics and helped out. I started meeting people and making friends.”
    
As an athlete in her own right, Dippery has played wheelchair basketball for Katie’s Komets of Philadelphia for the past three years.
    
“One day, I just picked up a basketball, dribbled and taught myself to play,” Dippery said. “It’s harder to play basketball from a wheelchair because you have to push the chair, throw the ball and dribble. The hoops are just as high and the rules are the same. But I like it. I’m competitive and like to win.”
    
She was recruited to play wheelchair basketball at Illinois University and Edinboro State University, but plans instead to attend Lebanon Valley College. Dippery also calls herself a “diehard New York Mets fan. I never miss a game.”
    
Dippery, who is an honors student, received the Central Dauphin High School excellence in business award, said she plans to study accounting at LVC.

Dauphin County reports

Scholastic football in south central Pennsylvania, 1887-1978

Pennsylvania school journal

Education in Harrisburg, Pennsylvani, Central Dauphin School District, Harrisburg School District, Bishop Mcdevitt High School (Harrisburg

West's federal supplement