An interview with Kent Laster

Braswell’s second-ever Head Football coach, Athletic Director

Diego Gonzalez, Myrical Roberts, and Kennedi Inman

April 19, 2023

What was it like teaching at Little Rock Central High School and Waco University High?

“It was great at both places. I mean, we had when I got there, in the start, talking about Little Rock Central, a very historic school. That is where the Little Rock Nine incident in 1957 happened. All
integration happened in the South 1957. So they had a lot of history at the museum across the street. 365 days a year, people from all over the world go there. They have probably the greatest athletic tradition of any school I’ve ever heard of. They have 50 track state championships, 32 football, 19 basketball, swim has won a dozen. I mean, crazy stuff. Stuff you’ve never heard of – two national championships in football. So that was great. But when I got there in Central, it was very down. Everybody started moving to the suburbs. The program was down at the door. So I got there. We struggled the first year, but we turned it around. My second year, went to playoffs winning season, and it was very rewarding to help that program get on its feet. Waco University High School was very similar but an even bigger hill to climb. University had not had a winning season in 13 years. No playoffs, no playoff wins – but we were able to do that [earn a playoff run] at University. That was an even greater reward. Now [Waco] University feels like they will win every game next year – so that’s what it was like working there.

How has coaching at Little Rock and Waco prepared you for your stint at Braswell?

“[Waco University and Little Rock Central] prepared me for the work it takes to do it. Already I have met with the Freshmen and 10th-11th graders. Already I saw, in their eyes and in their responses, a lot of buy-in to what we are asking of them. We are asking them to wear shoes, wear a belt, ‘yes sir’, ‘no sir’, run here and all of that good stuff. That was the type of scrutiny that we held to teams where I was when they had further to go. We have phenomenal athletes here – I didn’t know that coming in but now I know. I have seen some students that, at least they look like it, are better than where I was – my previous two stops. Their attitude has been great. They have done everything I have asked them. They have had no push back.

What, in your opinion, makes a good athlete?

“I will say this, I said they look like great athletes. What actually makes a great athlete is not so much athleticism honestly. Let me backtrack a little bit. Sometimes people can be taller, faster, look the part, but yet they don’t not have the mindset and the heart and the grit. I am not very tall, I am not very fast but I did play division 1 football. And I came from a high school, were we had athletes, but we had guys like me that were not like that calliber but we worked hard enough and we were able to be successful. So at the end of the day what makes a great athlete is taking the god-given ability that you have and maximizing that. Like if you’re an eight, you’re an eight – which you can be a great athlete. But if you’re an eight, and you perform, or your grades, or your grit, or your determination, or your follow-through is like a four, then you are not going to be a great athlete. But if I am a 10, and I perform at a nine – that is pretty good. So it takes more of the invisible stuff, like the soft skills and all of that. Like I am trying to help them with. It happened at Central and it happened at University where we had enough talent and we stayed on them enough where they bought into the soft skills that they need – looking someone in the eye, great body langauge, grades – doing all of those other things I talked about. That is what allows you to win. In order to win, you have to be a winner. You know everybody looks at the score, but what we are, and I just told the freshmen this is: what we are in the fall will be everything we do now. You are not going to show up in the fall and say ‘oh we are just going to win’. Because that is what everyone is going to say. ‘Hey are you going to win?’ I heard a young woman earlier, she came up to me and said ‘are y’all going to win?’ I said ‘if we win now’. We are going to win now so that we can win in the fall. I am a believer in this to: you may not get what you want now, but if you keep working, if you keep chopping wood – that’s my slogan ‘keep chopping wood’. What I am trying to say is that if you don’t get what you want, or you don’t win, or you don’t get the job, or you don’t get anything you want, you just keep coming back and if you’re relentless, eventually your hard work, the sum of all that will allow you to be successful. And unfortunately football, and sports, is like snapshot, like, ‘what have you done boom that game?’ Well really sports is really what you did before you played the game.”

What are your top priorities going into the summer?

My top priorities are No. 1 getting to know the kids and our families, making sure they have a firm grasp of our scheme – offensive, defensive, and special teams, and getting the [football] staff established here.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your family?

I have a 12-year-old daughter who is about to turn 13. I have a nine-year-old, she just turned nine. Their names are Kennedy and Kinsly. My wife is an administrator, she is an AP in Waco, she may do the same thing here, her name is Anverly. I am from Dallas, originally. I was telling the kids, I went to Lake Highlands if you have heard of that school. They won basketball, 6A state champions. They just won that and we were really good at basketball when I was there but we were better at football. And they are still good at football but we were better at football when I was there.

What inspired you to take the head football coach/AD position at Braswell?

I wasn’t looking for this. This kind of came out of nowhere. Somebody in the district had known that job had come open. I got to spring break and I told my wife, ‘this year we are just going to go on vacation and were going to get ready for next year’ because we were going to be really good at [Waco] University. So I was like we are going to 10-0, and go to playoffs, and try to go to 3rd or 4th round, or deeper. I wasn’t even thinking about it and I got a call. I didn’t think this job would come open for at least five years. And I got the call, and I was ‘yeah, I mean I remember that school, it’s like brand new.’ We used to live in Little Elm, not even 10 minutes from here. We lived off of 423. We lived here for nine years. My kids were born here and everything. Then I came and interviewed and everything was great from the panel, Coach Florence, and Mr. Hailey. And then I saw this [the new Carrico Stadium and Braswell High School]. You know, and I know y’all might get used to it, but I am like. Even this morning I am like freaking out. I just walked over to that field house [the east field house] that was my first time over there. I am like ‘this is insane’. I saw the stadium and I just… man this is, I can’t even describe to you that I am here. It hasn’t even set in yet. You know, it was really hard to leave University. It was really hard. Because if you take something that nobody in the state thought could win. My wife even said ‘you know that they went 0 and 40.’ I said ‘yeah, but if we can get them to be disciplined, and get them to buy-in, I think we’ll get it done.’ Now, I didn’t realize it would happen so fast – in two years.