Coach Barkley ran track and cross-country for Swartz Creek High School. He earned all-state honors in cross-country and also won the conference title as a junior and the regional title as a senior. He attended D-III Kalamazoo College, where he earned Academic All-American honors all four years and qualified for nationals in Cross-Country his senior year. After graduating from Kalamazoo with a B.A. in Economics, he accepted a scholarship to study Resource Economics at Oregon State University. At OSU, he was fortunate enough to be able to compete and train with the club team that was keeping the spirit of OSU Cross-Country alive until its recent rebirth. He graduated with an M.S. in Resource and Environmental Economics in 1997, and then earned his M.A.T. Degree in Mathematics Education in 1998.
Coach Barkley started with Wilsonville High School in the track season of 2001. Since then he has been the head Cross-Country Coach and became the head Girls Track Coach in 2004. From 2001 onward the Wilsonville track and cross-country teams earned 7 state titles and numerous state trophies and conference titles. While the team has enjoyed competitive successat times, the focus of the team is and always will be on the team as a second family.