CHINA SPRING, Texas — He made Varsity as a freshman, and four years later, China Spring running back Kyle Barton says he's learned a lot of lessons along the way.
Two years ago, a young Kyle Barton was only a Sophomore at China Spring and was honored as the 6 Sports "Player of the Week." He was as eager to succeed then as he is now as a Senior.
"I've had a lot of time to grow and a lot of time to learn, and just being able to mature over the years has really been able to help me," said Barton.
Barton broke two school records this season, a goal he's had since he first stepped foot on the field, including the all-time points mark at 450 and the most rushing touchdowns ever by a Coug at 64.
"Leading up to the game I knew I was close. Whenever it happened, the first thing I thought about was my teammates and coaches because none of this would be possible without them. A lot of that gets overlooked," said Barton.
But the path hasn't been without adversity.
"He really hates losing more than he loves to win. He's a winner in everything he does. Sheds light on all the positives taking place," said China Spring Head Football Coach Tyler Beatty.
But a broken leg meant Barton had to sit out of the State Championship his Sophomore year.
"We can lean on him in the locker room to change the mentality of some who haven't been through so much adversity," said Beatty.
A player of the week then and a player of the week now.
"He's been doing it for so long. He has seen what really highly effective players do before him and now he leads others. So whenever his time here at China Spring is done there are guys that know exactly how he prepped and planned to potentially break his records," said Beatty.
"It's been a long process of mistakes and overcoming those but I feel like everything that we've preached has really helped me become the man I am today," said Barton.
More from 6 News: