Chance Bryant

I remember sitting on a zoom call with the other three captains during the interview process for the head strenght & conditioning coach prior to the spring of 2022. We had just met with a coach from the University of Georgia who had previously won a national championship and we thought we had our guy. However, we were told that one more interview was to be had. We then meet this elderly man with glasses that discusses only one main thing during his interview…. Brotherhood. It had been something that we were trying to cement into our program and Kurt Hester lived by it. Immediately we knew he was the guy. I remember first meeting him in person. I was the very first guy to train with him that early January and he told me “ I know I am a little crazy but I promise if you trust me, we will get it done.” & that we did. People don’t recognize how much time college athletes really spend with their strength & conditioning staff. Coach Hester was a brother, a dad, a mentor, a father figure, and so much more to all of us. Without Coach Hester there is no 2022 championship, there is no Cotton Bowl, there is no return to stardom for the football program at Tulane University. He never took the credit but he deserved it all. That man was full of love, full of energy, full of grit, compassion, toughness, and a genuinely caring soul. He meant so much to everyone he came in contact with. He trained us for the draft the following year and was always there no matter what we needed. I remember our conversations and him just continually believing in me even in times where I didn’t believe in myself. I’m forever indebted to him. I know he would tell all of us to not be soft or spend time being sad over him so this isn’t a message of pain nor hurt. This is a message of appreciation for what Kurt meant to so many people. The lives he changed, and the impact he made by being nobody other than himself. I love you Coach, I will miss you so much. I hope the weight room in heaven is up to your standards because the grind never ends for you. Until we meet again, love you man … 💙🙏🏾🕊️