BY BUDDY TABLER
Special to the Tribune
LARNED – Brady Keith has come full circle.
Larned native and Larned graduate, Keith has been named the new head football coach at Larned High School.
Keith, a 2013 graduate of Larned High School and a former star running back for the Indians has been given the task of taking Indian football to a new, and higher, level.
“I want to change Larned football,” he said. “I want to change the culture and install a new expectancy, a new mindset in our community, that expects better and bigger things.”
After graduating from Larned High School, Keith, though undersized, played four years of running back for the Southwestern Moundbuilders under coaches Ken Crandall and Brad Griffin.
Though small for a college running back, Keith excelled through better conditioning and attention to the little details as he posted big successes for Southwestern. He hopes to bring those attributes to the Indians and install a culture that expects to win.
“We will focus on the details," Keith said. "Do the little things right and accountability and consequences will be a big part of what we do. We are not going to do a ton of things offensively and defensively but, what we do, we will do well. Preparation and paying attention to fundamentals will be stressed.”
Keith and his wife, Lindsey, live in Larned with their “family," two dogs and two cats. Lindsey works from home as a social media advisor and Brady teaches English at Larned High School.
“I am, first of all, a teacher,” said Keith. “I don’t teach so that I can coach. I am a teacher first, and I also coach. My idea of coaching is to be a good teacher to our team and in the classroom.”
Keith’s primary goal is to establish a run-oriented offense.
“Our first priority will be to run the football,” he said. “On defense, our first priority will be to stop the run. We want to be simple, but do it well. We will throw the football, but our major focus will be on running the football successfully.”
Keith wants to install a football system that is used throughout Larned football, from the grade school teams, into the middle school and high school.
He wants all Larned teams to use the same offense, defense and nomenclature with the idea of providing years of continuity for all of Larned’s football players. He will guide a staff that will include five other assistant coaches at the high school.
“I love the Larned community,” he said. “I grew up here and my wife and I have returned here because we want to live here. We can be better at football than we have been. I am excited to have received the opportunity to make it better. Things are going to be different. I’m excited about getting started.”
