PREP PERSPECTIVE / PAT BARNES : The Only Pressure This Quarterback Feels Comes From Within

I had trouble sleeping that night. I was tossing and turning, thinking about the Southern Section championship game we were about to play against Laguna Hills. I never thought about losing, really. I was thinking about executing plays, visualizing things like throwing the deep ball and seeing our receiver catch it.

The pressure didn’t really hit me until the next day, in the fourth quarter. We were down, 35-28, with 2 minutes 30 seconds left. We had the ball on their 20-yard-line. I rolled out to the right. I saw Cordell Graham up the seam. I could have run the ball, but I threw it.

The ball floated on me and hit the free safety right on his numbers . . . interception. It was a crushing blow. I probably paced a good 2,000 yards after the game, up and down the sideline. I went through that throw a thousand times in my head. It was a low point in my life.

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Since my freshman year, I’ve competed in athletics, and every year it seems more and more is expected from me. With the support I have had from coaches, teammates and parents, I have grown and matured to a point that I’m ready for any challenges that come about.

I think I expect myself to do a lot more each season. I put pressure on myself to improve, but in a positive way. I think if you try to have a positive attitude and then just attack with the best of your ability, you’ll be successful. Everybody thinks about negative things: “What if this happens?” or “What if that happens?” I try to think positive.

I am not trying to put down the newspapers, but I really don’t read any of them. I glance at them, but I don’t dwell on it. I look more at what other teams are doing. I like to see how Estancia quarterback Matt Johner is doing because he’s a good friend of mine.

I read about our team as far as where we’re rated, but not much else. I think it’s easier not knowing. Besides, my mom is putting together a scrapbook for me so 30 years from now I can sit back and read it all. It will probably mean a lot more to me then, anyway.

People ask me what college I’m going to, but I really don’t know. I get a few calls from recruiters, but no one is pressuring me, especially since it is still the middle of the season. I’m sure, unless I was Joe Montana, the recruiters would still need to evaluate me.

I have been asked if I get pressure from my coaches and teammates, and I would have to answer honestly no. The Trabuco Hills coaches have given me invaluable learning experiences, both on and off the field. My coaches are very personable and are always willing to help with school or social problems.

Parents are a major influence on every child’s life, and I wouldn’t change mine for anything. I feel more pressure when they ask, “Is your homework done?” or “Did you study for the test on Friday?” They never say, “You really need to do well this game,” or “This game relies on how well you do.”

All my life they have been the first ones to tell me that I messed up but they have also been the first to tell me, “Hey, great job on that test,” or “Great game!” My parents are really my backbone.

I can remember my mother having a tear in her eye in my sophomore year when I brought home all A’s and one B on a report card. I don’t remember a tear in her eye when I brought home a new patch for my letterman’s jacket.

The bulk of my pressure is self-imposed. But it helps me to do well in whatever I choose to do, no matter if it’s schoolwork or sports. I use the pressure to fulfill my own expectations and the goals we, as a team, set at the beginning of the season.

Pressure is really nothing more than a series of challenges. Some people love to accept challenges life throws at them and conquer them. Others don’t like challenges and shy away from them.

I believe success will come from the team and not from any individual effort. The more I think of “I,” the more I feel pressure. The more I think of “team,” the less pressure I feel.

When we take the field, I have confidence in my teammates and coaches and in my own ability to succeed. In that way, I take the pressure off us and put it on the other team.

For example, when we played El Toro this year, all the talk was about them. We were the “underdog.” If you play with confidence, the pressure isn’t going to be there for you. If you play with a negative attitude, negative things are going to happen.

It’s more of a mind game, really. You can put pressure on the quarterback’s arm, but you can’t put pressure on him mentally.

It had taken me until last week to watch the film from last year’s CIF final. I think a lot of that had to do with maturity. I was afraid to sit there and relive it. Now, I look at it as a good learning experience.

That’s the attitude I had last week going into our game against Laguna Hills. We were 5-0 and doing really well. I think the coaches were stressing it more than we were during practice. We were concentrating but still having fun. Coach (Jim) Barnett was saying he was worried that our attitude was so loose.

I think the kids knew we were going to be all right. I know the night before the game I slept pretty well.

Editor’s Note: Barnes completed 18 of 22 passes for 243 yards and four touchdowns as Trabuco Hills shut out Laguna Hills, 42-0, to remain unbeaten.