What’s old is new: Coach ‘Burr’ Haynes still guiding young Colonels from the sideline

1980-81 Colonels, coached by Donnie “Burr” Haynes

When it comes to the history of athletics, specifically basketball, in Whitley County and surrounding areas, you will likely not find a person more knowledgeable than Coach Donnie “Burr” Haynes.

Haynes came to Whitley County High School in 1964, the year after consolidation. He played baseball throughout his high school career, and he started on the varsity basketball team as a sophomore, junior and senior.

“We had a very competitive team my senior year,” Haynes recalled. “G.B. Hendrickson was our coach. He was tough, old school. We just played extremely hard. It was a heck of a team.”

Haynes and his fellow Colonels came close to winning it all in the district his senior season, but they fell just short.

If Haynes would have been born just a couple of years earlier, he would’ve had the chance to be a part of the last varsity basketball team at the old Pleasant View High School.

“I lived in close proximity to the school,” Haynes said of Pleasant View. “That is where I made a lot of my childhood memories that I still love to this day. I loved that old gym. It was very special to me.”

Haynes recalled sneaking into the gym at Pleasant View all those years ago, and developing his game there. To this day, he still owns some stones from the original gym building, as well as a piece of the hardwood floor

Another fond memory of childhood that Hayes mentioned is getting to watch the old county basketball tournaments that were played between Pleasant View, Woodbine, Rockhold and Poplar Creek high schools prior to consolidation in 1963.

“I would like to see the school do something to honor those original schools now, maybe by hanging some banners or something,” Haynes said. “I just wish that, when the four high schools merged, we would have maintained a little more about their history.”

After graduating from Whitley County, Haynes went on to play a year of basketball at Cumberland College (now University of the Cumberlands). He continued to play baseball throughout the entirety of his collegiate days.

Haynes began his coaching career at the middle school level, coaching basketball at Whitley County Middle School in its first years of existence. He also served as an assistant at Cumberland for a year before he was hired on to coach the Colonels varsity basketball team in 1978.

It took a couple of years, but in 1981, Haynes’ Colonels won the district championship that had eluded him as a player in the 1960s.

“The kids came on the floor to win this game and they never let up,” Haynes was quoted as saying in the March 12, 1981 edition of the Whitley Republican newspaper. “Our seniors were just so determined that even if I hadn’t shown up, I think they would have found a way to win.”

The 1980-81 Whitley County boys basketball squad was comprised of the following players: Otis Reeves, Danny Parks, Scotty Patrick, Dennis Cupp, Jimbo Havens, James Worley, Tom Shelton, Jeff Shelly, Jim Wilson, Donnie Jones, Phillip Grubb and Lance Patterson. They defeated Corbin, 78-62, to win their district title that season. It was only the second championship in program history, with the first coming in 1973 under the guidance of Head Coach Jerry Hodges.

The Colonels have not won another district title since Haynes’ crew hoisted the trophy 42 years ago, but the old coach remains hopeful about the prospects of that changing in the near future.

“It’s better now than it has been in a long time, across all athletic programs,” Haynes said. “I think we’re ready to be competitive.”

Haynes left the area to coach elsewhere for much of the 1990s, but his final head coaching gig actually came across town at Williamsburg High School in the early-to-mid-2000s. It was during this time that he coached current Colonels basketball head coach, Eric Swords.

“He’s kind of been like a father figure to me,” Swords said of Haynes. “I played for him, and he is one of the biggest reasons that I took this job. He told me a lot about the culture change that was going on here, and said that he thought it would fit me well, so I listened to him and took the leap of faith.”

Haynes has not only served as a source of emotional support for Swords since he made the jump to Whitley, but he has also been a big help when it comes to guiding the next crop of young men in uniform. After being out of coaching for 15 years, the man who last led the Colonels to championship glory has returned to the sideline, agreeing to take on the role of an assistant to his former protégé.

“It means a lot to have him around,” Swords said of getting to share the sideline with his high school coach. “Him being here makes my job easier. Having him around helps me, not only from the basketball side of it, but for understanding the history and the tradition of this place.”

“I have always had great memories of being here,” Haynes said of Whitley County. “I have always desired to see us be as good as we can be, in hopes that we can one day win this region. I am overcome with pride when I think about Whitley playing at Rupp Arena. It’s a hard hill to climb, but I have never given up that hope.”

Haynes said that he is enjoying being back at his old school, helping out the next generation of Colonels in his capacity as an assistant basketball coach. “It allows me to mentally stay in the game,” he explained. “It’s really good for me.”

As for any differences that he has seen in the players over the years, he said, “They’re largely the same. Society may change, but the kids don’t really change. It’s all about that rapport, and developing the trust and relationships. If you love what you’re doing, and you love to see them improve, then they’ll go right through a wall for you just about every time.”