Tommy CassellMetroWest Daily News
Logan Barber islucky to be alive.
After playing golf with two of his buddies on Oct. 23, 2021,at Shining Rock Golf Club in Northbridge, Barber rode in the passenger seat of his friend's carasthey traveledback toMillis.
Just a few miles away from home,Barber was looking down athis phone when his life flashed before his eyes.
“I looked up and saw atree and everyone went ‘oh (expletive),’” Barber said.
Traveling at a high-rate of speed, the car in which Barber sat hit a tree and ricocheted nearly 100 feet down to the ground.Barber, a Millis High junior at the time,had a seizure and blacked out before amedical rescue helicopter took him to UMass-Worcester Medical Center.
“It was just a blur,” he said. “It honestly felt like a movie. I was shocked to be alive.”
Ten months later, Barber returned to the golf course as a senior captain for Millis High. The 17-year-old shook off the physical and mental hurdles fromthe car crash to lead the Mohawks to their first MIAA playoff appearance in program history.
“It makes me very thankful,” Barber said. “It was very exciting being back and back to normal, as normal as can be.”
‘It didn't happen’
Barber started playing golf when he was 5. The sport helped him connect withhis grandfather and father as trips to California, Texas and Costa Rica only strengthened those bonds – and his love forgolf.
“Golf has been my thing to do,” he said.
In preparation forparticipating as an individual in the 2021 Division 3 state championship after he shot a 78 at the D3 Central sectional to finish as runner-up, Barber teed it up fora practice round at Shining Rock. That's where the state final would be held 10days later.
Barber won $80 from his buddies and was feeling pretty good about his chances at states. At least until he was trapped inside his friend’s busted car and convulsing.
“It was pretty tough,” said Aden Azzouz,a friend of Barber who sat in the back of the vehicleduring the accident andescaped through the trunk. “As soon as it was over, I saw him having a seizure in the front seat and I didn’t really know what was going on.”
At the same time, Barber’s father, Mark, was driving down I-495 when he received a call from his wife, Liz. She was hysterical. Her son had just beenin a serious car crash. So, Mark darted off to Worcester to seehis son.
When he arrived at UMass Medical, Mark was notified that Barber had suffered a brain bleed and a seizure. Barber also tore his right bicep. His face and legs were torn up.
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“He didn’t look that great,” Mark said.
Despite the trauma, the first thing Barber asked his father was if his golf clubs were OK.
“The doctor was like ‘You don’t have to worry about your clubs for a while’ and he was like ‘Well, I’ve got a tournament (on Nov. 2).’ And the doctor was like ‘Well, I don’t think you’re going to make it,’” Mark recalled.
Barber stayed in the intensive care unit, or ICU, for three days and in the hospital for four total. His brain and body needed time to recover.
Once he finally returned home to Millis, Barber hoped to somehow make it over to Northbridge for the Div. 3 state final. But that idea was quickly quashed: doctor and mother’s orders.
What an ending:Dover-Sherborn wins tiebreaker with Weston to claim first ever Div. 3 state championship
“I was at least going to try – even if I had to shoot a half-swing the whole time, but I wanted to finish the season,” Barber said. “It was the wrong idea but, in the moment, I wanted to do it.It didn't happen.”
Instead, Barber used the next three weeks to rest up at home. He then returned to school – on a part-time basis – for the followingthree weeks.By the time late-November hit, Barber was back doing the thing he loves most: playing golf.
“I was like ‘Alright, I still have golf. So that's fine,’” he said. “As long as I could still golf, I was happy.”
‘A comeback story’
This summer, Barber played some of the best golf of his life. The skinny right-hander boasted a career-low handicap of +0.9, which is roughly 1-over par for 18 holes.
Even with his game in high gear, Barberunderstood what was most important.
“At that point I realized how lucky I was to still be alive and playing golf,” he said.
This fall, Barber served as a captain for the Mohawksfor a third straight season and wrapped up his five-year high school career in style. Barber averaged a score of 38.33across nine holes and was named a Tri-Valley League and Daily News All-Star.
“It’s amazing,” Azzouz said. “At the moment that (the crash)happened last year, we weren’t even entirely sure he’d be able to swing a golf club again – let alone do what he did this year.”
Wildcat redemption:After losing to Dover-Sherborn in a tiebreaker last fall, Weston prevails in D3 golf final
“It is a comeback story,” Millis golf coach Lance Benham said.
The cherry on top for Barber, however,was seeing a program-high 32 golfers try out for the team this season asMillis (9-6) claimedits first-ever postseason berth.
“It felt really cool to see how much the program has grown,” Barber said.
Just a year ago, none of thisseemed possible for Barber. He and his family know how luckyhe is to be alive – and to play golf again.
“To see him get back healthy and to tee it up and have the season that the team had, that was exciting for our family and really for the town,” Mark said. “We’re a small town, everyone knows each other and he had a lot of people rooting for him.”
“I'm very grateful that Icould come back and do this,” Barber said.
Tommy Cassell is a senior multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tcassell@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @tommycassell44.
