Ohio offensive assistant coach Kyle Barlow is in his seventh season with the program. His path to Ohio brought him under the tutelage of some exemplary coaches, and these skills have helped him become the mind behind the ever-changing Bobcat attack.
Barlow, who grew up in Howell, Michigan, spent most of his time playing basketball, but also played other sports. These activities that helped grow his love of sports would never have been possible without the support and love from his parents, who pushed him to pursue coaching after seeing his love of the game.
“A huge influence on the game of basketball,” Barlow said of his mom, Sharon Barlow and dad Steve Barlow. “They were the ones there. Dad played basketball in college and coached in high school, but Mom was always there, taking all of us to everything … and now, having little kids and being a parent, I know how big a commitment that is. It does not go unsaid that my love for sports really started with them, because they gave us the opportunity.”
Barlow began his basketball coaching career at his alma mater, Concordia University in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as an assistant before moving on to serve as a graduate assistant at the University of Michigan under Hall of Fame head coach John Beilein, where he learned about offensive preparation.
“Being at Michigan with coach Beilein, who was an offensive-minded coach (helped me learn),” Barlow said. “I got my grad degree there, but I always joke like my grad degree was in basketball, it wasn't in sport management, because I sat in the meeting room every day and we had something similar to this (whiteboard), and I'd see coach Beilein line draw up plays and the other assistants drawn up plays, and that was my real education.”
His early jobs really helped him grow as a coach, and his offensive mindset has stuck with him since working under Beilein, but was truly capitalized on for the first time at his next stop under head coach Tod Kowalczyk at Toledo.
“When I went down to Toledo, the head coach there, who I worked for and still the head coach, Tod (Kowalczyk), really identified that Beilein had left an impression offensively, so he kind of molded me into that on their staff, and I have been kind of doing that ever since,” Barlow said.
In the spring of 2019, Barlow jumped at an opportunity to coach at Ohio, and packed up his bags, as he and his wife made the move three hours south. He now calls Athens home after residing for several years, with lasting support from his family and Ohio head coach Jeff Boals.
“Coming here was an opportunity that I thought would help me grow my career,” Barlow said. “Being somewhere for five years or longer is really rare in this profession, but I think that's a testament to coach Boals and the culture that he's built, not only with our team, but with our staff, and it really is a family atmosphere down here.”
Barlow has settled into his role. His main job is to break down the opposing defense, exploit it through play-calling and the use of effective lineups to gain any advantage he can for his players. Even though it changes every year and what roster is brought in, Barlow has learned to trust his instincts and let the players' tendencies dictate some of the outcomes behind his coaching decisions.
“In the summer, after we get done recruiting and after our roster is set, I really study the tendencies of our players and what their strengths and weaknesses are to build an offense based on coach Boals identity of the offense that he's brought here and likes to run, and then enhance the strengths of our players within that framework,” Barlow said.
Barlow works with players throughout the week, as well as before games. He works with them on film, physical skills on the court and also works on the mental toll that basketball has on these athletes.
“I think ultimately that's coaching,” Barlow said. “That's a reward you get when you struggle at something one of your players does. You help them realize their potential. You rep it, you talk to them, you watch film, you do all that stuff and to see them have success after doing all those things is one of the most rewarding things you can have.”
Barlow’s responsibilities pick up once the game begins. He helps keep the team organized with play-calling and gives offensive advice to Boals. The communication is such a key piece between the coaching staff, but it would never be possible without the chemistry that has built over seven years together between himself, Boals and assistant coach Lamar Thornton.
“So when I was at Toledo, he was a graduate assistant for a year, and then when coach Boals got the Stony Brook job, he went to Stony Brook to be an assistant,” Barlow said on his connection to Boals and Thornton. “I had that prior standing relationship with him, and that was a big reason why I'm here.”
Barlow says that his job only gets easier in Athens, and he goes right back to the culture developed by Boals that has brought this staff together and has helped them gel throughout their time here together.
“This is probably one of the closer-knit staffs that I've ever been on,” Barlow said. “I think that's a huge testament to coach Boals. Every head coach in the country will say, like our team and our staff is one big family, right? Everybody says that, but (Boals) actually lives it, and he doesn't just talk the talk, he walks the walk.”
