A fixture of Panther sports is stepping down from his role.
For the last 16-plus years, Scott Hartbarger has been synonymous with Panther hoops, coaching Franklin’s girls to four conference titles, six 20-win seasons and 13 state playoff trips. Recently, the longtime coach brought his illustrious career to an end.
“I just want everyone to know that this was my choice. ... I just felt like it was time for me to step aside and have somebody else take over,” he said. “I’ve listened to a lot of coaches, and they say when you know you know, and I just had a feeling that it was time for a change and that the girls maybe needed some new leadership.”
After roughly a quarter-century of coaching, including more than 16 years at Franklin and eight seasons at Smoky Mountain, Hartbarger said he’d come to wonder in recent weeks whether the time had come to pass the torch. After a difficult loss to Andrews in overtime Jan. 5, he gathered his players for his final team meeting as coach.
“First of all I told them I loved them, I love this program and it’s been an amazing 17 years, but in my heart and in my gut, it tells me it’s time for me to step aside and let somebody else take over the program,” he said of addressing players the next morning, just hours before another home game with Tuscola. “[Assistant coaches Justin Moffitt and Bekah Brooks] were in there with me, and I said that these two are the ones who are going to take over the program. It was tough. It’s still tough. I’m still dealing with a lot of emotions right now, but I just know that it’s the right thing to do.”
“They were upset, and I hated to do it before a game, but I didn’t want to coach the game knowing that my gut and my heart were telling me something else. It wasn’t fair to them, and I always, always try to do what’s best for the program. ... If there was like a week to go in the season then I’d probably have gotten through it, but there’s two more months to go. They’ve got a chance to make a really good run and I’m pulling for them, and I just knew that they needed different leadership.”
While midseason resignations generally coincide with moribund programs in the midst of difficult years, this particular change looks nothing of the sort. Despite the tough loss to Andrews, Hartbarger had led the team to a 6-6 record, including a 2-1 mark in the Mountain Eight Conference.
Since then Moffitt has assumed the role of interim head coach, guiding Franklin to 20-point wins over Tuscola and North Henderson. While Hartbarger was reassured knowing the team would be in good hands, he said the decision has been painful nevertheless.
“We do [have plenty of talent], and I told them, ‘You need to keep on moving forward; you need to stay together,’” he said of his players. “‘You’ve got a chance to do some special stuff here. You’re a young group, you have one senior, you’ve got a chance to have a special couple of years, and you just need to focus. I know this is a bump in the road for you, but you need to focus and move on and carry on what we’ve built here.’”
“I’m not going to lie to you; it’s a difficult transition for me, because that’s been my life for 17 years. Actually [since] before I came here it’s been my life for about 28 years, so it’s an adjustment, but it’s one that I think needed to be made. I’m very fortunate to have had the level of talent that we’ve had come through here, and just to be able to have some success. I have thoroughly enjoyed my 17 years here.”
The son of Jim Hartbarger, who coached Western Carolina University’s men from 1969-1975, Hartbarger ends a remarkable career in the sport. With an overall record of 279-147 (65%), he steps down in all likelihood as Franklin’s all-time winningest girls coach by far. Rose Corbin, who coached the program from 1957-65, led the Panthers to multiple conference titles, but her exact coaching record is unknown. While he’ll continue to teach physical education at FHS, Hartbarger says it will be strange to watch the team from afar, and wished to thank everyone who helped the team during his time.
“I enjoyed every minute of it, it’s been a great run, and I’m appreciative to everybody in the community who has given towards this program over my 17 years,” he said. “I appreciate everybody in Macon County that had anything to do with our program, from players to coaches that coached with me to administrators ... teachers, athletic directors, trainers. ... I just thoroughly have enjoyed it. I appreciate it, and I can’t say ‘thank you’ enough.”