Ron Barsh

A Warsaw native who immediately became a mainstay of the Kokomo community when he touched down in the City of Firsts in 1970, Ron Barsh continues to bleed red and blue for the Kokomo athletic community.  Known affectionately as “RB” by many in the Kokomo athletic community, Barsh is a retired teacher, coach and athletic director at KHS who has dedicated his life to the success of student athletes.  Barsh coached junior varsity basketball for 15 years, and was also a head tennis coach for seven years. He was the athletic director in 1984-85 during the merge of Kokomo and Haworth High Schools.  Basketball-centric when he arrived at Kokomo, Barsh was quickly recruited to help with the Kokomo Relays annual track event, at that time alongside coach Walter Cross at the Haworth track, which was later named Walter Cross Field. Barsh continued working the event through his teaching and coaching career and into retirement. In all, Barsh worked an amazing 55 consecutive Kokomo Relays, watching the event evolve and grow, including the 100th running of the event in 2024.  Barsh was instrumental in the founding and ongoing success of the Howard County Sports Hall of Fame, serving as one of its original board members.  In addition to providing decades of behind-the-scenes support, mentorship and leadership for Kokomo athletics, he remains a fixture at games as a fan.