Barb Franco has done a ton of things at Napa High School, including many jobs other than principal.
She’s seen many MEL titles including most recently the girls' basketball team winning, along with the football team in this her final year as principal after 13 years at the head of “Big Blue”.
Franco was the girls' volleyball coach at Napa for 14 years before becoming principal. She thrived, going an amazing 260-60 in her time as coach, while winning the MEL titles in 1982, 85, 86, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95 and 96.
“My overall memory will always be the years I coached volleyball,” said Franco.
In 1996 her team went 34-2 (14-0 MEL), as it went on to win the Sac-Joaquin section title over El Dorado. After that Napa went into the NorCal playoffs. In NorCals it beat Piner-Santa Rosa, Shasta-Redding and St. Francis-Mountain View to punch its ticket to the CIF-State title match which it lost. That’s the only team from NHS to make it to state in anything.
“She brought women's sports to the top at Napa High school,” athletic director Brian King said.
In 2007 Franco saw the football team win the Sac-Joaquin section title over St. Mary's-Stockton 38-36. That was coach Troy Mott’s first year.
“There’s two, when we won the (2007) championship she was literally the first one down to run up and give me a hug, and I could see how proud she was that day, and more recently we were able to provide and give her the game ball after the Vintage game, knowing that would be her last Big Game as principal," Mott said.
“I’ve learned a lot from Barb as a female role model,so she’s taught me a lot,” Napa girls' basketball coach Darci Ward said.
In MEL play Franco’s teams only lost games to two schools over 14 years, 11 games to Vacaville and seven to Vintage.
“Mrs. Franco was awesome to work with; we were a great team together,” said Scott Kostecka who was the volleyball coach from 1999-2010, and athletic director from 2001-2007.
“I started looking at the football program and he was doing with his team, and what type of commitments was he asking his kids to do, and I wanted to be just like that, I wanted to have a program that demanded commitment and excellence,” Franco said.
“I’ll miss everything about her," Mott said. "I think that she’s taken extreme pride in this school."
“She's always been really supportive, she’s been a huge advocate for athletics," Ward said.
Franco is in the Napa High and CIF Sac-Joaquin section hall of fame.
“There’s no question Friday night lights in the fall is what I look forward to each year," Franco said. "I love watching our boys play football."
