High school coaches have a lot of responsibilities that they have to fulfill. They have to work with their team and have them prepared for competition and then they have to work during game day to ensure that their plan of attack is executed properly. While the sports are a huge part of their coaching, they are also there to impact the lives of their athletes and help them become better people.
Brant Hayes is in his sixth year as the head football coach of the Empire Bulldogs. He also serves as the school’s athletic director. He says that while he loves the game, he also knows that he is there for a bigger reason.
“The reason I decided to get into coaching was because I wanted to teach kids the life lessons that I learned as an athlete and help them succeed in life.”
Throughout his coaching career, Brant has had many exciting moments, but he says that there are a few that stand out as his favorite.
“There are a few moments as a coach that are highlight moments for me,” he said. “Coaching in the eight-man all star game was really great. Also winning back to back district championships for the first time in school history at Empire. And setting the scoring record for points scored in a season as the offensive coordinator at Westville.”
Hayes has some coaches that have had an impact on his style of coaching.
“Kevin Jones, Darin Kapella, and Eudean McVey have all influenced me and helped me become the coach that I am today,” he said.
There have also been some college coaches that Brant has looked up to as a type of coaching role models.
“I always watched Kelvin Sampson when I was younger,” he stated. “I also really watched Brent Venables and Mike Leach when they were coordinators at the University of Oklahoma.”
