For John Alley and Luke Barron, being firefighters and varsity wrestling coaches isn’t simply a matter of balancing two jobs. It’s more like a double-dip in intertwined vocations.
Alley is an engineer for the Westminster Fire Department, while Barron is a firefighter for the Denver Fire Department. They’ve coached at Columbine High School together for six years, the past two as co-head coaches.
The sum of both jobs requires early mornings and late nights, traded shifts at the station and aching muscles from drilling with the Rebels in the wrestling room. But the payoff — building community via fire trucks and takedowns — makes it all worthwhile.
“On the job, most times we see people at their bad moments — they’re going through their worst time right now, and that’s why we’re there,” Barron explained. “I like knowing when we show up at the bad stuff, we’re giving someone a chance to get things back to how they should be… And it’s kind of (a similar outlook) in the room. It’s all about helping a kid figure out how to grind through something hard. Think about how many doors that opens for young men in the future.”
Alley got his career start with Vail Fire and Emergency Services, and Barron with the Breckenridge Fire Department. But the Heritage High School graduates both eventually returned to the metro area, where Barron’s been with Denver since 2006 and Alley with Westminster since 2015.
Both men embody the traits one might expect from a character sketch of a coach/firefighter — speaking softly but carrying a big axe, and consistent humility contrasting the can-do intensity that’s required by being around the mat, or arriving on scene at an emergency.
The 5-foot-8 Alley, 34, has an athletic build and wears rectangular glasses that underscore the intellectual approach he has to both jobs. How Alley does one thing, he does everything. He takes as much pride in driving the rig on precise routes as he does in toughening up his wrestlers. He’s a member of the Wildland Team, which is deployed regionally and nationally to aid in forest fires, and a few years ago received an award for helping save a man’s life on a medical call.
He takes a studious approach to engineering, noting he’s got room for growth in “knowing the (best routes in the) city, knowing the rigs, knowing how to troubleshoot mechanical tools and parts of the apparatus.” And he, like Barron, embraces his role as a mentor in the room.
“My motivation, coaching-wise, is showing these kids that they’re capable of so much more than they think they’re capable of,” Alley said. “Every once in a while you see them have these ‘a-ha’ moments, and that’s what you’re most proud of as a coach. You see their struggles on the mat and when they succeed, you know the hard work they put in to get there.”
The 6-foot-1 Barron, 42, carries a heavyweight frame and has rocked a Fu Manchu mustache for decades. He’s verbally understated; everything you need to know about him comes not from his mouth, but from the mundane details of his job, and the moments when no one is looking.
Barron is the one to pick his wrestlers up after a tough night on the mat. He relishes the time spent with his 6-year-old son, a budding wrestler himself, and his infant daughter — they are his first post-dual chit-chats. And you’ll never catch Barron bragging on his 16 years of service with Denver Fire, where he says every day is the fulfillment of a childhood dream.
“As a kid, you look and you see the fire trucks going down the street, and you think, ‘They’re probably going to help someone, and, man, that truck is just cool,'” Barron said. “Now when a kid lights up seeing my truck, I light up… (What’s important to me) is I just put my gear on the rig and go do work when the bell sounds.”
While Alley and Barron remain reserved about their community impact, they are quick to acknowledge the influence of their wrestling Sherpa. Ray Barron, Luke’s father, was a longtime Colorado prep wrestling coach and member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He was Columbine’s coach from 2017 to 2020, and passed away in October 2020 from brain cancer at age 70.
Both Alley and Barron wrestled for Ray at Heritage, and coached under him as assistants at Columbine. Ray’s death presented personal and professional adversity for both men. How could and should they go on, with their guiding light in the sport extinguished?
But go on they did.
Over the past two years, Alley and Barron guided two Columbine wrestlers (Jack Forbes and Zach Schraeder) to consecutive Class 5A state titles, while also carrying on the beyond-the-mat legacy Ray left behind. To emphasize that legacy and the the Columbine wrestling room got a facelift ahead of this season, with Ray’s mantra — “strength and honor” — emblazoned on the wall pads.
“They took (Ray’s passing) as a challenge, that Coach left the entire program to them, and it’s awesome to see what they’ve done with it,” said junior Will Schraeder, one of Columbine’s standouts and the younger brother of Zach. “Last year, with my brother and Jack winning state again, (Alley and Barron) were there all the way, they were the ones sitting in those corners. They took the responsibility of the program and are determined to grow it.
“There’s no doubt they’ve done that. And there’s no doubt why they do it. They love everyone in the (Columbine) room, they give everything they have to us and this school and community. Coach (Ray) Barron would be proud. I know I am, and I’m grateful, too.”
This story is part of The Denver Post’s Faces of the Front Range project, highlighting Coloradans with a unique story to share. Read more from this series here.
