Charlie Barth is one of those people at NPHS that everyone seems to know. Some know him for his outstanding football career, others for his academics.  Now that he’s in his senior year,  he’s starting to think about where he’s going to go and what he’s going to do when he graduates and leaves this place. Will he continue on with his football career, or will he cast football aside and pursue a different career path? Where does he want to go to college?  What other career opportunities has he considered? We caught up with him to see what he had to say. 

Graduating and leaving a team you’ve been with for years is hard for anybody to do. Charlie said that he’s been with most of the people on his team since he started his football career in kindergarten.  At that point, he was playing with guys that were older than he was, so when the seniors graduated last year, he felt like, “a part of [him] was also leaving.”  That experience gave him a little preview of what to expect this year. 

It’s not all tears, however.  Although Charlie says that  leaving everybody this year is going to be a little sad for him, he’s glad that he had a great season with them and that the season ended on a high note with the Thanksgiving game. He is hopeful that they can all hang out  after the season ends and hopes that they don’t get too separated during college years. His teammates are his ‘day ones’, and he doesn’t expect to forget about them. He told us that the team, to him, is not just a team, but a family.

It’s not just his teammates that he said he will miss, but his coaches as well:  “I’m gonna miss all these guys. They’ve been my biggest mentors for the last four years.”

While he knows he’s going to say good-bye to NPHS, Charlie currently does not know what college he’s going to go to once he graduates. Some of the schools he said were on his mind were Wake Forest and Duke.  When asked if he wanted to pursue his football career in college, and maybe beyond, he said he wasn’t sure. He said, “we’ll see where football takes me.” 

Even if he doesn’t end up playing on the next level can envision himself working in the NFL,  “getting a job on one of those teams doing something else.”

For now, though, Charlie’s immediate plans after graduation include: “getting a part-time job in the summer, as well as continuing to work out, and hopefully if I’m committed for football, starting camp in the summer and getting on campus wherever I commit.”

Even though he’s undetermined about where he wants to go to college, and unsure if he will commit to football after graduating, Charlie does know he definitely wants to have a background in engineering (chemical or mechanical), and maybe a business major, as a solid plan to provide him with some versatility for the future. 

It’s all a little vague right now, but Charlie’s now worried:  “I’ll figure it out once I get there.”

Based on the determination and leadership he’s shown at NP both on the field and off, he should do just fine.