Joe Barker is the secondary antagonist of Air Bud. He is the former Fernfield Timberwolves basketball coach.
Role in the film[]
Coach Barker was displeased when Josh Framm was too depressed to tryout for the basketball team and instead makes him the team's equipment manager, which is technically a humiliating role as the team's errand boy. After losing the first game due to Josh's dog Buddy causing a mess, he takes out his frustration by abusing Tom Stewart, one of Josh's teammates and best friend, by trying to make him catch better by pelting him with basketballs. He was caught when Buddy leads Josh, Jackie and Principal Pepper discover Barker's abuse of Tom, even attempting to come up with an excuse. Barker was subsequently fired and replaced by the school's kind-hearted engineer, Arthur Chaney. He was never seen for the rest of the film hinting that he was either arrested or that he moved to a new city.
