Garrett Xanders-
I have a ton of memories with Braxton, but the number one thing that comes to mind is the very first time I spent the night and we went Tping and got caught. Or when we would walk to McDonalds every time I came over and we would ding dong ditch the same house or all the sports we did together. Or the time we played soccer in the rain and every time you scored you had to take off a layer of clothing and me and Braxton where so good that we got down to compressions. Those are my 3 favorite memories with Braxton.
Carley Campbell-
When Brax and I first met we couldn’t stand each other but somewhere down the road, that changed. Maybe it was that we had so many classes together, maybe it was church camp or maybe it was because we evened each other out. Regardless, I love where we ended up. Brax was the number one most stubborn person, but he was also so kind hearted, loving, optimistic, caring, passionate person I’ve ever met. Although Brax did whatever he could to get his way, he also went out of his way to make everyone else around him smile. Probably the only boy I’ve ever met that would get their nails done with me, go on lunch dates, walk around for hours talking about everything, the only boy I could ask if they were going ‘cute’ or ‘casual’. Walking around talking about everything that’s on our minds is something we did often, he understood me.
We argued all the time everyday about the dumbest stuff. I can’t think of one single time we didn’t argue over the remote, one single argument where he didn’t put his arm around me, put his hand over my mouth and smile. Even though we had our differences, there was never a dull moment. I was always smiling when I was with Braxton. Guess that’s why everyone used to think we liked each other. I remember in 8th grade when he asked if we could play a joke on everyone and get married on facebook and tell everyone we were dating. The whole school was so excited. He thought it was hilarious and I felt so bad for them. Brax was such a mess but I’m sure that was partly my fault. We were so close, calling each other and talking about our days was the usual. Picking out each other’s outfits was the usual. Being excited for and proud of each other was the usual.
When I made cheer he gave me the biggest hug. When he got in his Varsity football game, I think I yelled louder than I ever have before. He was my favorite person to be around because he made every situation so much better. He always knew when something was right and when something was wrong. On my birthday I woke up to 17 pages of the sweetest thing I’ve ever read. He told me how thankful he was to have me and how much he loved our friendship. Later that day he was standing in my kitchen with Hannah with exactly what I wanted. He was exactly what I needed in a bestfriend. He always pulled through for me and naturally as his bestfriend I was planning to do the same.
Braxton’s smile could light up any room and his sarcasm could make anyone laugh. We argued all the time but staying mad at each other was something we could never do. There are countless all night phone calls, heart to hearts and memories and if I continued to write like I am I’d write 1000 page novel. All of these things made knowing Braxton so special. His friendship was the most important thing to me and I’m so very thankful I got to be such a big part of his life.
Tyce Miller-
We (Braxton, Garrett & me) all went out to go Tping in the neighborhood. We bought all the toilet paper and had done about 3 houses already. Then a car pulled up going about 50 then slammed on the brakes. We thought it was Rob, but it was a fat lady who had found her house with toilet paper everywhere. She called the cops, the cops showed up, Rob came over and the cop talked to us. The cop made us clean every house we had done. And it was about 12:30 and COLD. And while we were cleaning Rob sat in the car where it was warm and didn’t help us at all because he was angry that we got caught.
At CIY Braxton, Jesse and I were joining a dodge ball team that a lot of people do. We were freshman and we had 3 other sophomores on the team. Ken Kooser had his own team with ALL seniors on it. No one had faith in our team that we would win this 32 team tourney. We won our first game and so did Ken’s team. We won another but then his team lost. We played the team they lost to and beat them. Suddenly people started gaining faith in us. A few more games and we were in the championship. Everyone was watching. We WON the game winning the tournament with 3 freshmen on the team against college people. FCC’s church teams had never won it before. We were the first.
Kenzie Young (Princess Brax memories with Princess Kenz)-
There are so many memories that Brax and I have had together. His bright eyes filled up the hallways in Derby! His big grin that he had every time he saw someone melted your heart! With Brax you knew you were loved! Here are my favorite memories Brax and I shared together…
At Derby High School everyone thought Brax and I were talking. They came up to each of us in the halls and would say ‘Are you and Brax talking’. They would be like ‘BK & KY’. We sat by each other at the lunch table every day and talked and laughed all the time. I think we both had a thing for each other. But we both didn’t want to say anything because we both knew we couldn’t date your brother or sister!
A couple days before the accident Brax, Avery and I were all in math. We were supposed to be doing our homework, but didn’t want to. Brax told me that he wanted to watch me play volleyball sometime soon! I told Brax that I played in KC that weekend and that he could go if he wanted to! Brax looked at me and said ‘if I want to go then I need to start walking now’. So knowing Brax and I we calculated how long it would take for him to walk to KC!
Another memory that I will never forget is the time on my birthday when Brax sent me this 7 page long birthday text that legit made me cry. He told me how proud he was of me and that I was a beautiful girl and that he loved me sooo much! Later that night at 11:59 he sent me another text and told me some more things!
8th grade on our dodgeball tournament at DMS, we ended up playing Braxton’s team. The 1st ball I threw was to get Brax out.
I threw the ball and he caught it between his legs to get me out. He looked over at me, pointed with his finger and said ‘Hahaha got ya Princess!’ I was so mad but couldn’t help but laugh at his facial expressions!
Before every game day Brax and I sent each other good luck texts! I always told him that he better score a touchdown for me!
The 1st time he did he texted me and told me he scored for me! Oh how I miss the little things like that! His big hugs that he came up behind me and said ‘Good morning Princess Kenz’.
Hollyball I was going to ask Brax! Somehow the word got around and he found out! I texted him and asked if he was doing anything the night of Hollyball and if he had any plans. He told me that the night of Hollyball is when he had got tickets to watch K-State play. He said that if I didn’t find a person to go with that he would skip the K-State game to be my date. I’m so glad Brax went to that game that night. If he wouldn’t of gone the memories that all of you guys shared that night wouldn’t be here. And we wouldn’t have the BEAUTIFUL picture of Brax spreading his arms out wide on the field. Later that night after Hollyball he texted me and told me what he was doing and that he went out on the field and took pictures with the family! He told me that he hoped I had a wonderful night because I deserved it and hoped I wasn’t mad that he wasn’t my date!
Those are the few great memories that Brax and I shared together! I’m so glad I got to spend time to get to meet my bestfriend! I miss this boy so much but I keep replaying all the great times we had together! One last of my favorite memories that somehow I forgot was with Brax and my sister, Madi. Brax always told me that Madi and I were twins. Of course I don’t think we do but Brax did. He told me that he thought Madi was prettier than I was, but then he looked at me and said ‘just kidding Princess’ in his sarcastic voice. He always said that he was going to marry my sister instead of me. One time on Madi’s birthday he got in my phone to get Madi’s phone number and texted her happy birthday. He was so mad she didn’t reply, but later that night she did.
Brady Rust-
There are too many memories to pick one favorite about Braxton. A year from today I took him to the K-State basketball game for his birthday and spent the night with him after his party. That was probably the most fun I ever had with him. My first time I ever spent the night or hung out with Braxton was in the 7th grade we went Tping, that was also pretty fun and memorable since he was my first friend at Derby. This past summer was my first year playing baseball with Braxton and the Derby Tigers. It was my favorite year of baseball. Brax always helped me when I was struggling or kept me going. When we went to state it was my favorite time of the year, we played our first couple of games so good and Braxton showed his true leadership and love for the game of baseball. Ever since we’ve been friends we’ve always competed in dodge ball tournaments. We won every single one since this year at the lock in. Brax was the last person in the championship and got out. It was very competitive. I also loved this football season. I loved watching Brax make great plays when he would come in at quarterback or when I would scramble and throw him a pass. He always seemed to be open downfield in the endzone and I miss his presence already. I always loved coming in the gym before zero hour and seeing him in a ball on the floor because he was always so tired. The little things we did together are my favorite memories like the time he came over or whenever we had our baseball swim party. Xbox live parties were always so fun too, especially with Brax since he was the last one to get it. It was always fun having someone new online. My last memory I had with Brax was when I took him to batting practice and we had a laugh the whole time because none of us could pitch to each other accurately and Brax kept making me stay up to bat when he couldn’t throw a strike or come close to hitting me. I’m glad I had all these memories with Brax and I know that all of them will last forever.
Riley Spainhour-
I was thinking for a really long time and there’s so many memories I couldn’t just pick one. I don’t really know where to start or how to so I’ll just go with the first one I thought of. Me and Brax always argued about KU and KState and even when KU won the game, Braxton still would win the argument. KU could’ve killed KState and he’d still argue until I just gave up and agreed KState was better. There was first semester geometry, Mrs. Schmitz put Kenzie, Avery, Braxton and I all right next to each other and the 4 of us always talked literally the whole class. We had a project for that class and I remember Avery and Brax came over to work on it and he refused to help and watched football the whole time. Usually that would make me really mad but it made me laugh just because it was Braxton. One time everyone came over and once again Brax only wanted to watch football but I refused to give him the remote so he beat me up with a pillow until I finally gave it to him. It was so funny. That night he told me he wasn’t ‘feelin the jeans’ and asked if he could wear my running shorts. So next thing you know all the guys come out wearing my shorts. I loved how Brax was never afraid to be himself and always did his own thing regardless what anyone thought about him. And every time everyone came over, it was because Braxton said ‘so, your house tonight?’ and I always laughed when he said that just because it was him. Me and Braxton barely ever were serious with each other but one night after everyone had left my house I was so mad and Braxton called me and we talked on the phone for like 3 hours about literally everything. I’m sure he didn’t think twice about it because he was always such a good friend to me, but that literally meant the world to me to know that he was there for me. This might sound kind of dumb but my FAVORITE memory of Braxton was every time we’d joke around and be rude to each other, he’d like mouth ‘I love you’ and put up the sign language that meant I love you with this hilarious grin on his face and he’d make me do it back and ‘connect’ them. It ALWAYS could make me smile. Brax sat right behind me in Global Geography and always messed with my hair just because he knew it irritated me. But I think that was just the kind of friendship Braxton and I had, because rarely were we ever not making fun of each other. But I still loved him just like a brother and really cared about him. I never really got to thank Braxton for being such an impact on my life and being such a great friend no matter what. If I could see him and talk to him just one more time there’s so much I would say about how sorry I was for all the dumb arguments. Even though we both knew we were always joking. I still wish I could apologize and tell him how much our friendship really meant to me. I love Braxton so much and I’ll never forget him.
Jesse Mark-
Me and Braxton had a friendship like no one else. We loved to have fun and whenever we were together there was no shortage of it. From playing football, going to the DRC, going to church together, and just hanging out we became really close. One of my best memories with Braxton was our last freshmen game of the season. Braxton was the backup quarterback and starting receiver and I was the backup receiver. So when Brady got hurt Braxton had to move to quarterback and I took his spot. There was 2 minutes left in the game when I went in. Right when I went in I knew if coach called a pass play I would be getting the ball because me and Braxt trusted each other so much on and off the field. On first down starting from our own 7 yard line we called a run and Hutch’s defense stuffed our running back in the backfield for a 5 yard loss. So when we were on the 2 we really needed to get some yards so we wouldn’t get a safety and lose the game. Our coach called Hawaii and I knew right then I could be getting my first catch as a Derby Panther. I ran a hitch and Braxt threw a perfect ball to my outside shoulder and I caught it and was a huge play to end the game. Braxton threw me my first ever Derby Junior Football, Middle School and High School passes. We always talked about trying to have him throw me my first college pass at K-State. We were both huge K-State fans and we loved letting people know about that together. I don’t ever remember a day of middle school or high school that both of us didn’t argue with a ku fan and talk trash together. We made sure we never lost those arguments and eventually only a few people even dared to try to tell us anything bad about kstate. Braxton had my back and I had his.
When we went to the waterpark me and him would even act gay together just to get random girls to stop following him. Braxton was definitely a ladies mad I don’t think I ever saw him without his phone texting at least 3 different girls usually more than that. I will always remember how he would beg for my phone when he got his taken away and I would usually give it to him. When I got it back he used more text messages in one day then I have ever used in a lifetime. But I didn’t care because he saved the girls numbers he talked to in my phone so that I could talk to them also. Some other great memories of Braxt that I had were sleeping on rocks together because Justin fell asleep on us and locked us out. That definitely wasn’t fun but Braxton made it so much better with his little sayings and sarcasm that I will never forget. Me and him had so many inside jokes that I will never be able to use again because no one else understood me quite how Braxton did. I would say jokes that he only thought was funny but I was okay with that because I would do anything to see his smile light up the whole room or hear him laugh.
There are so many football memories like him breaking his arm or playing on the read team together. All of 7th grade year football was a joke but it was the time of my life being on the same team as him, complaining about the blocking or just laughing about how bad we were losing. There are so many more memories I could write but it would take at least a year to write them all. But to end this I wanna say I love you Braxton and you will never be forgotten.
Hannah Steinert-
Braxton was a great friend. I have an infinite amount of memories that I could write about, but the one that sticks out the most to me is the day he got at home pedicures with Carley, Avery and I. We picked him up around 12 and we went to Buffalo Wild Wings. I remember it was so funny because us girls were being crazy and loud as usual and Brax kept telling us he was never going to eat with us again because we were extremely embarrassing. After we finished eating we went back to Carley’s where her mom and sisters had already set up the spa. Brax went first and it was definitely a funny sight. He’s one of few teenage boys that would do this with us! He was very scared that the clear nail polish was going to show up and people would see it! He then decided it would be funny to draw all over the back of my legs with hot pink nail polish! I’ll never forget how excited and loud Carley and I were when he got to be the first freshman to go into the Varsity game. I was beyond proud of him accomplishing that. I think maybe part of the reason the two of us got along so well was because we not only LOVED K-State, be we shared the same passion of hate for KU! There is countless memories to write about, but they will all forever have a special place in my heart.
Jacob Moeder-
One of my favorite memories of Braxton was when he and Drew were over at my mom’s house. Drew and Braxton where over and we were just hanging out in my room playing Xbox and talking to people online in our chat group. Later that night we all watched the new Jason Bourne movie and had popcorn. The next morning me and Drew woke up before Braxton, so we both took long hot showers. After we were done we both knew then there wasn’t very much hot water left. So we woke Braxton up so he could take a shower, as soon as we heard the water turned on Drew and I ran around the house and turned on every faucet in the house to hot! So by the time Braxton got out of the shower he was just freezing! And for the next week we would just give him a hard time about that shower and how that’s what he gets for waking up late.
Another one of my favorite memories of Braxton was during football. One day three freshmen lost their shoulder pads…I don’t know how on earth you lose your pads but they did. That day two things happened, we all learned that Coach Clark wasn’t our freakin mom and all the freshmen had to run about 30 cross fields! This was the only time I was happy I was the kicker because I got to kick and not do cross fields! I can just remember the look on Braxton’s face when he found out that he had to do cross fields, he just had this look like he was going to kill the kids who lost their pads! After they were done running I walked up to Braxton and told him he was a wimp for being tired and if he wasn’t so tired then he probably would have hurt me.
Katie Hartman-
I couldn’t decide on one specific memory so I’m just writing about a couple of things that make Brax so special. Braxton was one of those people I could turn to for any problem. He was always there for me. He also loved to torment me and make fun of everything I did, but then at other times he would be the sweetest person. At first Braxton and I didn’t really like each other, but then we started to talk more and get along and we became great friends. He could always turn anyone’s day around if they were having a bad day, especially with that beautiful smile that could light up the whole room. In the mornings our group of friends would wait for Braxton and Garrett to get done with zero hour so we could talk and hug. I also had lunch with Brax and he would always save me a seat right next to him and he also would go get me chocolate muffins from the panther den all the time. I remember one time in the summer some of our friends went swimming at the Tierra Pines pool and he wanted to ring a doorbell so he did and the mom chased him around the neighborhood but she never caught him. Gosh he was so ornery. Braxton also was one of the few that showed up to the freshmen girls basketball games and that meant a lot. He always supported us. I remember seeing Brax get in a varsity football game. I was cheering so loud for him, I was so happy for him. I remember the waterpark in the summer, having PE with him, standing by him at football games. Everything we did I will never forget. Everyone that knew Braxton liked him because he was such a likeable person. Also one of the most sarcastic people I knew. It got so bad sometimes I couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not. I can still hear his laugh, voice and see his beautiful smiling face. The memories with Brax are countless. I could go on and on about him. I love him so much and I know everyone else does.
Jace Snodgrass-
Memories of Braxton; tailgating at K-State games-not wanting to watch the game because we were having so much fun outside the field. Swimming at his grandma’s house-always having so much fun swimming and playing baseball (or at least looking for it). Ding dong ditching-whether it was the Dalwinies or the same house on the corner. Playing hot box in the front yard-we would play for hours until someone got hurt or someone got mad. Lemonade stand-trying to make money with a lemonade stand but people we knew from the neighborhood kept coming to help and wanted some money. Rafting at Tahlequah-going off in front of everyone to get back early & ended up jumping off the bridge & getting yelled at. Mudslide at Council Grove-making a ‘mudslide’ that we played on for hours. 4th of July at the Anderson’s=dropping fireworks in their pond and scaring the perch.
Lindsay Webb-
In elementary school we would play football. Well mainly the boys, but there was this one day that I wanted to play with them. None of the boys would let me, but Brax did. He convinced the boys to let me play. So Brax was on the opposite team and I was playing quarterback and I got the ball and Brax was just screaming at me to give him the ball. So I threw it to him and once he caught it he just laughed and laughed. I was so confused but then when he was done laughing he finally said ‘way to go dummy you threw it to the wrong team!’ He just had that goofy evil smirk and gave me a hug and said ‘it’s okay Linds!’
The day when Brax gave me the heart necklace, it was for my birthday. He tried to be all sneaky and hide it in my backpack, but I knew he was up to something. Haha. He had such a big smile that day! I can still picture it, so instead of his original plan he just gave it to me after school and he walked me home like always. Well only if he was going to his grandparent’s house. I still have his necklace and I wear it every day. Always. Love and miss you Brax! You’ll always be my first love.
Kaleb Kelley-
Two of the things I always loved about Braxton were his love for seeing new movies and how he never wanted to spend a Friday night at home alone. After football season, he was always making plans for what we were all going to do. He knew I would always come. Most of the time there was a new movie he wanted to see. Afterwards a few of us would always stay at someone’s house.
The two times we went over to Braxton’s were some of my favorite memories of him. The first time was after Garrett, Caleb, Braxton and I went to see Sinister. It was easily the scariest movie any of us had ever seen. Afterwards we all stayed at Braxton’s. We tried to pull a prank on Garrett by drawing some symbols from the movie on the wall in the laundry room. Which I am still very sorry for. When Garrett walked in he immediately freaked out and ran upstairs yelling for Rob. He came down livid, and knocked a little bit of sense back into us. Later that night, we called Kylee and asked if she would pick us up some McDonalds. With all four of us together, it ended up being around $30. When Rob found out that none of us intended on paying her back, he was pretty furious. He was mostly upset with Braxton and after he finished lecturing him all of us decided to give her some money. Besides Braxton, being himself, he refused to give in to Rob’s reasoning.
The other time I stayed overnight was after we saw Broken City. Garrett, Braden and I all stayed over. After we got back, we
all walked to McDonald’s in the frigid cold. It wasn’t until we got there that I remembered that I spent all my money at the movie theater. Luckily, Braxton had a bunch of money and was kind enough to lend me three whole dollars. After we were
done there we walked back and as soon as we got downstairs, Braxton found an airsoft gun. He spent the entire night threatening us all with it. He probably shot Braden about 20 welts, and I’m sure he had plenty of welts the next day.
I have countless memories with Brax. It would be very hart to write them all down. Some of the things I will never forget are driving to your house almost every day during football season to give him a ride somewhere, watching practice and eating seeds with him and Jeremy when I was sick, dreading running scout team or blocking drills with him, all week complaining about how Garrett got #9 because he didn’t get smacked around like us, standing on the sidelines with him freezing our butts off and just hoping we will somehow get in, turning around during basketball games and seeing him with all our friends sitting there and being in class with him and just messing around the whole time. But the thing I miss the most is just seeing him every day and that mischievous smirk you could always see and just hearing him say, ‘Hey Kaleb’.
Grace Mitchell (aka Gracie girl)-
I love you Braxton Wells Kooser. Braxton never missed one of our freshman games. He was always there supporting us and that all meant a lot to us! I had 2 classes with him 1st semester and just 1 class 2nd semester. I sat next to him in each class and always made my day brighter and happier. His smile could lite up a room. Everybody admired him and tried to be like him in every aspect of his life. He will never be forgotten either on the football field, baseball field, church or anything he did. I love him with all my heart and the Kooser family is always in my prayers. Little things he did like blow up my phone with selfies and write on my erasers the things he said or his jokes he thought will never leave me! I wish God wouldn’t have taken him so early, but God is our creator and does everything for a reason. Braxton was good at whatever he did. Braxton left such a huge impact on my life I can’t describe it in words and he did that to a lot of people. Brax will always be on my mind at night, but he’s in a better place now. Something is missing out of my life everyday it is Braxton but I will always remember the happy times with him. Your family will always be in my prayers. I love you guys! You should be proud of the 14 and a half years your son left on this earth. He touched so many people’s lives! I love you with all my heart and I can’t wait to see you again. Everybody misses you! Our senior year the girls basketball will go undefeated for you. Your always on my mind and always will be. I know you could’ve gone to MLB, but God had a different plan. I hope you’re having a blast with our creator. I love you our precious angel. Rest in paradise Brax! BK13. I love you Brax. You will always be on my mind.
Evan Green-
One of my favorite memories with Braxton was when I took him to an Oklahoma State football game. I had forgotten to tell him he needed to bring a school ID or some form of identification. We were freaking out until he called his mom and asked her to get his id and take a picture of it for him. After all that was over we went into the weight room and he was taking pictures of himself in the mirror. Then we left and went onto the football field. He walked by someone which turned out to be Brandon Weeden and was freaking out. He thought it was awesome. During the game all he was talking about was how much better K-State was then Oklahoma State. All I kept saying was wait until next year Braxton! We had an awesome time together and I know I loved spending it with him.
Megan Rooney-
Braxton was always like a brother to me. Ever since kindergarten he was always a funny and caring person. He would always be there to cheer somebody up and make them laugh. I remember one day these guys were being mean to me and Braxton asked me if I was okay and joked around with me saying he was gonna beat them up. The thing about Brax is you could never really be mad at him no matter what he did. He would always take my stuff and then give it back when I didn’t need it anymore. When I tried to do it back it never worked because he would wrestle me for it. I have so many childhood memories with him that I couldn’t even begin to write them all out. But I remember during library he would always check out Barbie books and he would read them to us in a circle and he would make us laugh. Whenever somebody said anything about KU he would freak out on them and give them a whole lecture on why K-State was better. He got our whole 5th grade class to have a contest on who could draw the K-State wildcat best. Of course he was the judge and said that his drawing was the best. I’m gonna miss Brax being here to cheer me up, make me laugh, and just being ornery and stubborn.
Justin Willson-
One of my favorite memories of Braxton was the time him and Jesse slept on the rocks. They went to another friend’s house at 1 am to watch a scary movie and I was tired and didn’t want to go. I ended up falling asleep and my mom locked the door thinking we were all inside. I found out they came back at 3 and I was asleep. They couldn’t get inside so they started banging on the window. Another great memory of Braxton was when I broke my ankle. He was telling me how many times he has gone through it and that it would be okay and to just stay positive and that the team needed me on the sidelines. It made me feel so much better when he said that. A memory that we have mentioned before was when he wanted to go teepeeing. He was telling us to do it to the Westerman’s house. We must have had at least 15 rolls of toilet paper. It was so fun other than the thought of getting caught by the cops. A few weeks ago my house got teepeed and sure enough it was Braxton who did it. I had done so much with him through Derby Jr Football, to hanging out at school. I remember when he got to be number 9 for Colby Liston, how happy he was and the fact that he got to play just made my night. I’m so glad that I had the experience of having him in my life. Love you guys so much.
Avery Noel-
Braxton is the only 14 year old kid I know that would want to have a spa/pedicure day at home. He’s the only 14 year old boy I know that chose to run around in a pair of girls’ running shorts and a scarf. He’s the only 14 year old boy that I know that got excited and danced around when he reached 60 points on Mario Cart. Brax was crazy, outgoing, independent, brave, passionate, sarcastic, straight-forward, lovable and simply amazing. He was your best friend 5 minutes after meeting him. He had the prettiest blue eyes and a perfect smile. He was handsome and he knew it…ha ha. Braxton was cocky at times but he had good reason to be. He knew he was a good athlete and he made sure everyone else did too. Watching him play football or baseball was so fun because he made it seem so easy even with broken fingers. Brax had big plans for everything. He knew what he wanted and wouldn’t settle for less. He was persistent and stubborn and always found a way to make you see things the way he saw them or made you do what he wanted to do. I mean he got the entire Derby High School and surrounding schools to wear purple. I can’t count the number of times me and him argued in one day. I’m just as stubborn as he was. But after a while I just stopped trying because he would always win. I’m glad he won those arguments because I can’t remember a time that I didn’t have fun. Everyone would get so annoyed with us because we constantly wrestled and flirted. He didn’t care though. Brax didn’t care what people thought of him. He was his own person. I remember him wearing a white v-neck shirt, ray bands and a flat-bill hat backwards at church camp…ha ha. He thought he looked so good. I also remember seeing him cry for the first time and throwing his hands up in the air when we were worshipping God at CIY. I was so unbelievably proud of him. My love for that kid grew so much at that camp. He told me once that I reminded him of his mom, Alana. He said we’re alike because we are both really nice, funny, always there, a pain in the butt and we cuss a lot. Ha ha. I always thought that that was the funniest thing. Gosh I miss him like crazy. I saw that goof ball literally every day of my life and now I just feel lost. I feel lost without his hugs, laugh, and the looks he would give me. He was constantly telling people he loved them. Not hearing those words from him anymore just breaks my heart. Nothing can describe how much I love him. Knowing that he is in heaven and resting in paradise leaves feelings of happiness after this very unfortunate accident. Braxton Wells Kooser will forever be remembered and talked about. He’s dearly loved and missed by so many people. I absolutely cannot wait to see his beautiful, shinning face again.
Riley Adams-
I don’t even know where to start, there is so many memories I have with Braxton. I guess I will start when we went to Oklahoma State for the game against West Virginia, we went with Evan and he had recruiting tickets so we got to go in the weight room, tunnel, on the field, and good seats. Braxton and I took a mirror picture in the mirrors in the weight room ha ha. That was a great day and I never wanted it to end, he was being so funny. I remember we were coming out of the stadium and these people were tailgating we ran over there to see the Alabama vs Texas A&M game I think when Texas beat them, and we were going crazy. Then it started raining on our way walking out to the car. We got to Evan’s house that night and Braxton was making Evan I both mad. He hid Evan’s phone and was messing with us both. It was so funny.
Then there was the night Kaleb, Braxton and I were going to go to Riley Spainhour’s house to hangout after one of the basketball games and we ended up going to Wendy’s to eat and there was a vacuum that we said we were going to steal because it would be hilarious, but we never did! We never did go to Riley’s house we went to Wal-Mart to meet up with Caleb and Alex. We went to Caleb’s and decided to play hostage, so Kaleb and I were driver and navigator of one car and Kylee and Ashley were the driver and navigator for the other car. Kylee dropped Braxton and Cassidy off somewhere and Kaleb and I dropped Alex and Caleb off somewhere. That night was so funny and scary ha ha! Kaleb and I had to go find Braxton but Kaleb had to drop me off because I had work in the morning so Kaleb calls me and says look this place up on your phone and gave me the address where Braxton said he was and it was like 5 miles in the middle of nowhere from my house and it took them forever to find them. I told my dad that night that they couldn’t find Braxton and he said we should go look for him abut I said it was part of the game!
Another fun one was the weekend before everything happened we were at Caleb’s. Braxton, Caleb, Kaleb, Alex, Taylor, Elena and I. Somebody T-ped my house the day before and I found out who it was so we all went to go T-P them and we got them pretty good until we thought we saw someone. On the way there we thought we saw a little kid hanging from a fence but on the way back we realized it was a water pump. Lol. We all were wearing our hats that night! Those made us really cool by the way.
I remember Rob calling me and asking me to play with the older tigers for a tournament and I said yes and was really excited.
Braxton and I just got over a big fight we had, and I was telling myself I can’t play bad or mess up because I will be made fun of forever. Braxton came up to me before the game and we both apologized and that really helped. I was so nervous and first at bat got a base hit so all the nerves were gone and Braxton told me good job. Next at bat I hit another one. I was really proud but we really weren’t playing that well. The last game that night I was on third and we were down a lot and Braxton was up and hit a deep deep bomb! I thought it was gone but I was ready to tag u and the outfielder caught it over the fence I swear. We were both mad and I couldn’t believe it, but I was so proud of him.
The Monday before everything happened we went to Derby Donut after zero hour and Braxton paid for Kaleb, Garrett and I.
I owed him $3 still that I meant to give to him Friday so Rob or Alana if you’re reading this and you want $3 hit me up!!! Ha ha, but I kind of felt bad…I know there is nothing I can do about it now.
There is so many, and I’m sorry but, I remember when Tyce, Braxton and I went to High Park for some big party thing and we were waiting for my dad and this guy drove by and Tyce acted like he threw a little tennis ball at him or something and the guy whipped out a U-turn and stopped and got out and acted like he was going to beat us up. I just had my surgery and could hardly walk so Braxton and Tyce got in front of me and the guy picked up Braxton from his shirt and Braxton said it wasn’t me it was him and pointed at Tyce and he picked up Tyce and Tyce was like we didn’t throw anything I’m sorry!! Then the guy drove off and we told my dad and we went looking for him but never did find him!
Another one with Braxton and Tyce is they came over one time and we went ding dong ditching these people with a camera on their porch and we put our shorts over our heads and we had compression short son and we ran so fast it felt like, it was hilarious. Brady was with us too but didn’t go past the driveway. Well that’s it, Braxton we will miss and love you so much. Alana and Rob we love you guys. Brody and Brecken, you guys are awesome and keep being amazing people we love you. You guys will make your parents and Braxton proud not to mention all of us friends.
Melanie McCormick-
There’s a lot of memories I could write on here…but some of my favorites are the first day of spring break, 8th grade we went to my house and Braxt was wearing a cowboy hat and holding the giant exercise ball I have. I started running at him and bounced off the ball. I remember just going up in the air and straight back on the ground hitting my head so hard and all we could do was laugh. Or in Mr. Klish’s class when we got 3 days of lunch detention together. Or how he ALWAYS asked me for answers even on the easiest things. Or how every time I laughed he told me to calm down because I sounded like I was having a heart attack. Or how everyday he’d flick me in the neck just to make me mad and watch it turn bright red. But my all time favorite is and always will be watching Silver Linings Playbook with him and sitting right beside him laughing at the movie and the car ride home. I’m really thankful God had me spend his last day hanging out with him. I’ll never understand it…but I sure am glad.
Jose Estrada-
\I had a lot of memories with Braxton. But my favorite one is when we were on the panther stadium. Coming out of that locker room holding your hand was one of the best feelings. Going under that panther tunnel gave me chills. I loved being on that field with you buddy. I love you Braxton and miss you so much. BK13 Rest in Paradise.
Alex Helt-
A couple favorite memories of me and Braxton. I always loved coming to most of his baseball games last summer. I always loved being there to support him and cheer him on. I would always brag and say I was there to watch Braxton because he was one of the best on the tiger’s team and he always made me so proud. I don’t remember being at a game where they lost. Another favorite memory was last summer at Melanie’s house. Braxton would stand at one end of Melanie’s basement and someone would stand at the other end. Braxton was holding an exercise ball and the two people at each ends of Melanie’s
basement would ram each other and whoever would run into Braxton would be thrown across the room. Definitely one of
the best days of my life. One more of my favorite memories of me and Braxton was when we were at Caleb Sheldon’s house and I fell asleep on the chair in Caleb’s living room and my head was laying on the arm rest. Braxton decides to sit on my face while I was sleeping and I woke up to Braxton’s butt in my face. He would NOT get off my face, even after I was awake. So I take my legs and wrap them around his shoulders to get him off my face and that boy grabs hold of my legs and stands up and starts flinging me around like a rag doll. I love that boy so much…I miss you Braxton.
Zack White-
Memories of Braxton-playing every season of baseball with him for 7 years. His birthday 2 years ago at his house and the community pool. Him and everyone on the team making fun of me for not being able to swim. Playing my first and only season of football with him. Him handing me the ball during the all star game and me scoring my only 2 point conversion of the season. Goofing around in the hotel for fall ball. Playing woofle ball in the dark with the team at a tournament in Manhattan last summer. Calling him Braxtypoo. Him telling me to jump in the deep end of the Green’s pool at our tiger’s celebration 3 years ago. Arguing with him that A-Rod was horrible player for every year that we have played together. The trip with him up to KC for a fall ball tournament. The way we would argue about KU and K-State. Us being the 1st two at hitting everyday this year. The way he’d be like I get all the ladies to the guys on the team. When him and Tyce were swimming when they weren’t supposed to and they got in trouble. The WSU game we went to as a team. Braxt, Tyce, Caleb, Braden, Corey and me playing woofle ball in my driveway. Us throwing rocks at Braden while he was riding my lawn mower. Going to Tallianos and seeing Garrett and them going to dollar General and messing around in the toys section and trying on bras and little kids hats.
Madi Young-
There are a lot of memories that I had with Brax. Every time I looked at him he always smiled and that made me smile. I always looked up to him like he was my big brother. One time he texted me at school but I didn’t have my phone so he was a little angry that I didn’t answer him but then after school I talked to him. I will really miss him and I know you do too.
Jonah Packard-
The football game vs. Hutch, I just remember we had just scored and then we were in blue check and I completely forgot and it happened 2 or 3 times and it was seriously the worst game of my life. But he was always there for me saying like it’s alright don’t worry about it, just get it next time. He was always that guy for me because I screw up a lot and he always helped me fix it or tell me it’s fine. But after the game of course he never would stop giving me crap about it because that’s what friends do. And that’s just what he was to me a loving, caring, special friend. If I could choose one word to describe him it would be SPECIAL. He was special.
Brett Westerman-
I have had many great memories with Braxton but a couple that really stand out to me was when I was 8 and I was in the on deck circle before an at bat. I was talking to Braxton and he pointed over the left field wall, with a broken arm. He told me I was gonna hit a home run. That at bat I came up and hit a home run right where he pointed. That was my favorite memory
with Braxton. Another great memory was when we went to the KSU Vs. TEXAS game. If KSU won they clinched the Big 12. They did win!! It was so fun cause we got to rush the field and we were taking pictures and thought we were the coolest people in the world. I will never forget that night. It was one of the best night of my life and Braxton made it ten times better! I love you Braxton!
Caleb Smith (his speech from Braxton's funeral)-
It is a privilege to stand here today and speak about my relationship with Braxton as his football coach and weights teacher. It was really cool and powerful to see all the purple worn to Derby High School on Monday to honor Braxton. Braxton was one of the biggest K-State fans I know. It brought a lot of joy to his close friends and family to see all that purple. However, had Braxton not been a K-State fan and we had to see blue & red Jayhawk shirts all day, I'm afraid it would not have had the same impact!
I remember Braxton being a very passionate kid about many things-Kansas State, Derby Panther Football, Tiger Baseball and most importantly his Faith in Jesus Christ. Braxton was one of the first Freshman this year to wear the "#9" jersey that represented Colby Liston and his character. The jersey went to one freshman chosen by the seniors each week to be worn on Friday night based on the effort and attitude they displayed at practice that week. Braxton was quickly recognized as a player with the high character, effort, and concept of team that Colby represented. When he was told he was chosen, he was honored and wanted to represent Colby well. I can remember that Friday night at Maize I turned to him late in the game and said are you ready? His eyes lit up, he was not expecting me to say that! With his big nervous smile I told him, just don't let anyone behind you! He went out there and playing the corner position he gave that receiver a 20 yard cushion to ensure that did not happen! They threw a screen his way which meant he now had to run up to the ball about 30 yards after a 10 yard back pedal. He broke down to make that first varsity tackle........and then he fell. Luckily, one of his football brothers at the safety spot made the tackle and we held them on 3rd down.
He came off the field with a huge smile. He didn't care what happened on the play, he just got on the Varsity Football field for the Derby Panthers. After the game he was on Cloud 9. I knew that was an experience he had been waiting for his entire life. He tweeted that night that it was the greatest moment of his life and he was going to give 110% every day so he could wear #9 again. Braxton always gave 110%.
Another memory I recall, at some point in the season we were preparing for an option team and I don't recall the exact details of what we were doing but the drill basically had the scout team become tackling dummies. Some kids would do their best to hide as they weren't real interested in being a tackling dummy for the likes of Ben Becker, Chandler Ayer, Braxton Jones and Jose Delgado. As I turned to give the play, two kids stepped up immediately, Garrett Xanders and Braxton Kooser were nervously willing to give it all they had. Garrett went first and Ben Becker just lit him up-I turned to Braxton and said you ready? He just gave me that Braxton smile and said Yep. While I know Braxton wanted no part of Jose Delgado, he was willing to do anything for the team and was the type of player coaches love to have around.
I shared with Braxton his passion for Kansas State, Panther football and of course spa pedicures. He wasn't afraid to be himself. If you also knew Braxton's personality, he had many close friends because of the type of person he was. He went out of his way to make people laugh and to make people happy. Most of the time he was either playing a prank on his friends or doing something nice to make them smile. He had many close friends on my girls Basketball team and would be one of the 4 or 5 student fans at the Freshmen girl's games cheering them on. He made sure to let the girls know he cared about them every day. But what I admire most about Braxton was his willingness to share his faith and his love for Jesus Christ. And for that, I know he is sitting in heaven, cheering on his Panthers, his Wildcats and his Derby Tigers with that Braxton Smile that we will all forever remember.
HERE ARE PICTURES FROM SOME OF THE MEMORIES SHARED ABOVE
I have a ton of memories with Braxton, but the number one thing that comes to mind is the very first time I spent the night and we went Tping and got caught. Or when we would walk to McDonalds every time I came over and we would ding dong ditch the same house or all the sports we did together. Or the time we played soccer in the rain and every time you scored you had to take off a layer of clothing and me and Braxton where so good that we got down to compressions. Those are my 3 favorite memories with Braxton.
Carley Campbell-
When Brax and I first met we couldn’t stand each other but somewhere down the road, that changed. Maybe it was that we had so many classes together, maybe it was church camp or maybe it was because we evened each other out. Regardless, I love where we ended up. Brax was the number one most stubborn person, but he was also so kind hearted, loving, optimistic, caring, passionate person I’ve ever met. Although Brax did whatever he could to get his way, he also went out of his way to make everyone else around him smile. Probably the only boy I’ve ever met that would get their nails done with me, go on lunch dates, walk around for hours talking about everything, the only boy I could ask if they were going ‘cute’ or ‘casual’. Walking around talking about everything that’s on our minds is something we did often, he understood me.
We argued all the time everyday about the dumbest stuff. I can’t think of one single time we didn’t argue over the remote, one single argument where he didn’t put his arm around me, put his hand over my mouth and smile. Even though we had our differences, there was never a dull moment. I was always smiling when I was with Braxton. Guess that’s why everyone used to think we liked each other. I remember in 8th grade when he asked if we could play a joke on everyone and get married on facebook and tell everyone we were dating. The whole school was so excited. He thought it was hilarious and I felt so bad for them. Brax was such a mess but I’m sure that was partly my fault. We were so close, calling each other and talking about our days was the usual. Picking out each other’s outfits was the usual. Being excited for and proud of each other was the usual.
When I made cheer he gave me the biggest hug. When he got in his Varsity football game, I think I yelled louder than I ever have before. He was my favorite person to be around because he made every situation so much better. He always knew when something was right and when something was wrong. On my birthday I woke up to 17 pages of the sweetest thing I’ve ever read. He told me how thankful he was to have me and how much he loved our friendship. Later that day he was standing in my kitchen with Hannah with exactly what I wanted. He was exactly what I needed in a bestfriend. He always pulled through for me and naturally as his bestfriend I was planning to do the same.
Braxton’s smile could light up any room and his sarcasm could make anyone laugh. We argued all the time but staying mad at each other was something we could never do. There are countless all night phone calls, heart to hearts and memories and if I continued to write like I am I’d write 1000 page novel. All of these things made knowing Braxton so special. His friendship was the most important thing to me and I’m so very thankful I got to be such a big part of his life.
Tyce Miller-
We (Braxton, Garrett & me) all went out to go Tping in the neighborhood. We bought all the toilet paper and had done about 3 houses already. Then a car pulled up going about 50 then slammed on the brakes. We thought it was Rob, but it was a fat lady who had found her house with toilet paper everywhere. She called the cops, the cops showed up, Rob came over and the cop talked to us. The cop made us clean every house we had done. And it was about 12:30 and COLD. And while we were cleaning Rob sat in the car where it was warm and didn’t help us at all because he was angry that we got caught.
At CIY Braxton, Jesse and I were joining a dodge ball team that a lot of people do. We were freshman and we had 3 other sophomores on the team. Ken Kooser had his own team with ALL seniors on it. No one had faith in our team that we would win this 32 team tourney. We won our first game and so did Ken’s team. We won another but then his team lost. We played the team they lost to and beat them. Suddenly people started gaining faith in us. A few more games and we were in the championship. Everyone was watching. We WON the game winning the tournament with 3 freshmen on the team against college people. FCC’s church teams had never won it before. We were the first.
Kenzie Young (Princess Brax memories with Princess Kenz)-
There are so many memories that Brax and I have had together. His bright eyes filled up the hallways in Derby! His big grin that he had every time he saw someone melted your heart! With Brax you knew you were loved! Here are my favorite memories Brax and I shared together…
At Derby High School everyone thought Brax and I were talking. They came up to each of us in the halls and would say ‘Are you and Brax talking’. They would be like ‘BK & KY’. We sat by each other at the lunch table every day and talked and laughed all the time. I think we both had a thing for each other. But we both didn’t want to say anything because we both knew we couldn’t date your brother or sister!
A couple days before the accident Brax, Avery and I were all in math. We were supposed to be doing our homework, but didn’t want to. Brax told me that he wanted to watch me play volleyball sometime soon! I told Brax that I played in KC that weekend and that he could go if he wanted to! Brax looked at me and said ‘if I want to go then I need to start walking now’. So knowing Brax and I we calculated how long it would take for him to walk to KC!
Another memory that I will never forget is the time on my birthday when Brax sent me this 7 page long birthday text that legit made me cry. He told me how proud he was of me and that I was a beautiful girl and that he loved me sooo much! Later that night at 11:59 he sent me another text and told me some more things!
8th grade on our dodgeball tournament at DMS, we ended up playing Braxton’s team. The 1st ball I threw was to get Brax out.
I threw the ball and he caught it between his legs to get me out. He looked over at me, pointed with his finger and said ‘Hahaha got ya Princess!’ I was so mad but couldn’t help but laugh at his facial expressions!
Before every game day Brax and I sent each other good luck texts! I always told him that he better score a touchdown for me!
The 1st time he did he texted me and told me he scored for me! Oh how I miss the little things like that! His big hugs that he came up behind me and said ‘Good morning Princess Kenz’.
Hollyball I was going to ask Brax! Somehow the word got around and he found out! I texted him and asked if he was doing anything the night of Hollyball and if he had any plans. He told me that the night of Hollyball is when he had got tickets to watch K-State play. He said that if I didn’t find a person to go with that he would skip the K-State game to be my date. I’m so glad Brax went to that game that night. If he wouldn’t of gone the memories that all of you guys shared that night wouldn’t be here. And we wouldn’t have the BEAUTIFUL picture of Brax spreading his arms out wide on the field. Later that night after Hollyball he texted me and told me what he was doing and that he went out on the field and took pictures with the family! He told me that he hoped I had a wonderful night because I deserved it and hoped I wasn’t mad that he wasn’t my date!
Those are the few great memories that Brax and I shared together! I’m so glad I got to spend time to get to meet my bestfriend! I miss this boy so much but I keep replaying all the great times we had together! One last of my favorite memories that somehow I forgot was with Brax and my sister, Madi. Brax always told me that Madi and I were twins. Of course I don’t think we do but Brax did. He told me that he thought Madi was prettier than I was, but then he looked at me and said ‘just kidding Princess’ in his sarcastic voice. He always said that he was going to marry my sister instead of me. One time on Madi’s birthday he got in my phone to get Madi’s phone number and texted her happy birthday. He was so mad she didn’t reply, but later that night she did.
Brady Rust-
There are too many memories to pick one favorite about Braxton. A year from today I took him to the K-State basketball game for his birthday and spent the night with him after his party. That was probably the most fun I ever had with him. My first time I ever spent the night or hung out with Braxton was in the 7th grade we went Tping, that was also pretty fun and memorable since he was my first friend at Derby. This past summer was my first year playing baseball with Braxton and the Derby Tigers. It was my favorite year of baseball. Brax always helped me when I was struggling or kept me going. When we went to state it was my favorite time of the year, we played our first couple of games so good and Braxton showed his true leadership and love for the game of baseball. Ever since we’ve been friends we’ve always competed in dodge ball tournaments. We won every single one since this year at the lock in. Brax was the last person in the championship and got out. It was very competitive. I also loved this football season. I loved watching Brax make great plays when he would come in at quarterback or when I would scramble and throw him a pass. He always seemed to be open downfield in the endzone and I miss his presence already. I always loved coming in the gym before zero hour and seeing him in a ball on the floor because he was always so tired. The little things we did together are my favorite memories like the time he came over or whenever we had our baseball swim party. Xbox live parties were always so fun too, especially with Brax since he was the last one to get it. It was always fun having someone new online. My last memory I had with Brax was when I took him to batting practice and we had a laugh the whole time because none of us could pitch to each other accurately and Brax kept making me stay up to bat when he couldn’t throw a strike or come close to hitting me. I’m glad I had all these memories with Brax and I know that all of them will last forever.
Riley Spainhour-
I was thinking for a really long time and there’s so many memories I couldn’t just pick one. I don’t really know where to start or how to so I’ll just go with the first one I thought of. Me and Brax always argued about KU and KState and even when KU won the game, Braxton still would win the argument. KU could’ve killed KState and he’d still argue until I just gave up and agreed KState was better. There was first semester geometry, Mrs. Schmitz put Kenzie, Avery, Braxton and I all right next to each other and the 4 of us always talked literally the whole class. We had a project for that class and I remember Avery and Brax came over to work on it and he refused to help and watched football the whole time. Usually that would make me really mad but it made me laugh just because it was Braxton. One time everyone came over and once again Brax only wanted to watch football but I refused to give him the remote so he beat me up with a pillow until I finally gave it to him. It was so funny. That night he told me he wasn’t ‘feelin the jeans’ and asked if he could wear my running shorts. So next thing you know all the guys come out wearing my shorts. I loved how Brax was never afraid to be himself and always did his own thing regardless what anyone thought about him. And every time everyone came over, it was because Braxton said ‘so, your house tonight?’ and I always laughed when he said that just because it was him. Me and Braxton barely ever were serious with each other but one night after everyone had left my house I was so mad and Braxton called me and we talked on the phone for like 3 hours about literally everything. I’m sure he didn’t think twice about it because he was always such a good friend to me, but that literally meant the world to me to know that he was there for me. This might sound kind of dumb but my FAVORITE memory of Braxton was every time we’d joke around and be rude to each other, he’d like mouth ‘I love you’ and put up the sign language that meant I love you with this hilarious grin on his face and he’d make me do it back and ‘connect’ them. It ALWAYS could make me smile. Brax sat right behind me in Global Geography and always messed with my hair just because he knew it irritated me. But I think that was just the kind of friendship Braxton and I had, because rarely were we ever not making fun of each other. But I still loved him just like a brother and really cared about him. I never really got to thank Braxton for being such an impact on my life and being such a great friend no matter what. If I could see him and talk to him just one more time there’s so much I would say about how sorry I was for all the dumb arguments. Even though we both knew we were always joking. I still wish I could apologize and tell him how much our friendship really meant to me. I love Braxton so much and I’ll never forget him.
Jesse Mark-
Me and Braxton had a friendship like no one else. We loved to have fun and whenever we were together there was no shortage of it. From playing football, going to the DRC, going to church together, and just hanging out we became really close. One of my best memories with Braxton was our last freshmen game of the season. Braxton was the backup quarterback and starting receiver and I was the backup receiver. So when Brady got hurt Braxton had to move to quarterback and I took his spot. There was 2 minutes left in the game when I went in. Right when I went in I knew if coach called a pass play I would be getting the ball because me and Braxt trusted each other so much on and off the field. On first down starting from our own 7 yard line we called a run and Hutch’s defense stuffed our running back in the backfield for a 5 yard loss. So when we were on the 2 we really needed to get some yards so we wouldn’t get a safety and lose the game. Our coach called Hawaii and I knew right then I could be getting my first catch as a Derby Panther. I ran a hitch and Braxt threw a perfect ball to my outside shoulder and I caught it and was a huge play to end the game. Braxton threw me my first ever Derby Junior Football, Middle School and High School passes. We always talked about trying to have him throw me my first college pass at K-State. We were both huge K-State fans and we loved letting people know about that together. I don’t ever remember a day of middle school or high school that both of us didn’t argue with a ku fan and talk trash together. We made sure we never lost those arguments and eventually only a few people even dared to try to tell us anything bad about kstate. Braxton had my back and I had his.
When we went to the waterpark me and him would even act gay together just to get random girls to stop following him. Braxton was definitely a ladies mad I don’t think I ever saw him without his phone texting at least 3 different girls usually more than that. I will always remember how he would beg for my phone when he got his taken away and I would usually give it to him. When I got it back he used more text messages in one day then I have ever used in a lifetime. But I didn’t care because he saved the girls numbers he talked to in my phone so that I could talk to them also. Some other great memories of Braxt that I had were sleeping on rocks together because Justin fell asleep on us and locked us out. That definitely wasn’t fun but Braxton made it so much better with his little sayings and sarcasm that I will never forget. Me and him had so many inside jokes that I will never be able to use again because no one else understood me quite how Braxton did. I would say jokes that he only thought was funny but I was okay with that because I would do anything to see his smile light up the whole room or hear him laugh.
There are so many football memories like him breaking his arm or playing on the read team together. All of 7th grade year football was a joke but it was the time of my life being on the same team as him, complaining about the blocking or just laughing about how bad we were losing. There are so many more memories I could write but it would take at least a year to write them all. But to end this I wanna say I love you Braxton and you will never be forgotten.
Hannah Steinert-
Braxton was a great friend. I have an infinite amount of memories that I could write about, but the one that sticks out the most to me is the day he got at home pedicures with Carley, Avery and I. We picked him up around 12 and we went to Buffalo Wild Wings. I remember it was so funny because us girls were being crazy and loud as usual and Brax kept telling us he was never going to eat with us again because we were extremely embarrassing. After we finished eating we went back to Carley’s where her mom and sisters had already set up the spa. Brax went first and it was definitely a funny sight. He’s one of few teenage boys that would do this with us! He was very scared that the clear nail polish was going to show up and people would see it! He then decided it would be funny to draw all over the back of my legs with hot pink nail polish! I’ll never forget how excited and loud Carley and I were when he got to be the first freshman to go into the Varsity game. I was beyond proud of him accomplishing that. I think maybe part of the reason the two of us got along so well was because we not only LOVED K-State, be we shared the same passion of hate for KU! There is countless memories to write about, but they will all forever have a special place in my heart.
Jacob Moeder-
One of my favorite memories of Braxton was when he and Drew were over at my mom’s house. Drew and Braxton where over and we were just hanging out in my room playing Xbox and talking to people online in our chat group. Later that night we all watched the new Jason Bourne movie and had popcorn. The next morning me and Drew woke up before Braxton, so we both took long hot showers. After we were done we both knew then there wasn’t very much hot water left. So we woke Braxton up so he could take a shower, as soon as we heard the water turned on Drew and I ran around the house and turned on every faucet in the house to hot! So by the time Braxton got out of the shower he was just freezing! And for the next week we would just give him a hard time about that shower and how that’s what he gets for waking up late.
Another one of my favorite memories of Braxton was during football. One day three freshmen lost their shoulder pads…I don’t know how on earth you lose your pads but they did. That day two things happened, we all learned that Coach Clark wasn’t our freakin mom and all the freshmen had to run about 30 cross fields! This was the only time I was happy I was the kicker because I got to kick and not do cross fields! I can just remember the look on Braxton’s face when he found out that he had to do cross fields, he just had this look like he was going to kill the kids who lost their pads! After they were done running I walked up to Braxton and told him he was a wimp for being tired and if he wasn’t so tired then he probably would have hurt me.
Katie Hartman-
I couldn’t decide on one specific memory so I’m just writing about a couple of things that make Brax so special. Braxton was one of those people I could turn to for any problem. He was always there for me. He also loved to torment me and make fun of everything I did, but then at other times he would be the sweetest person. At first Braxton and I didn’t really like each other, but then we started to talk more and get along and we became great friends. He could always turn anyone’s day around if they were having a bad day, especially with that beautiful smile that could light up the whole room. In the mornings our group of friends would wait for Braxton and Garrett to get done with zero hour so we could talk and hug. I also had lunch with Brax and he would always save me a seat right next to him and he also would go get me chocolate muffins from the panther den all the time. I remember one time in the summer some of our friends went swimming at the Tierra Pines pool and he wanted to ring a doorbell so he did and the mom chased him around the neighborhood but she never caught him. Gosh he was so ornery. Braxton also was one of the few that showed up to the freshmen girls basketball games and that meant a lot. He always supported us. I remember seeing Brax get in a varsity football game. I was cheering so loud for him, I was so happy for him. I remember the waterpark in the summer, having PE with him, standing by him at football games. Everything we did I will never forget. Everyone that knew Braxton liked him because he was such a likeable person. Also one of the most sarcastic people I knew. It got so bad sometimes I couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not. I can still hear his laugh, voice and see his beautiful smiling face. The memories with Brax are countless. I could go on and on about him. I love him so much and I know everyone else does.
Jace Snodgrass-
Memories of Braxton; tailgating at K-State games-not wanting to watch the game because we were having so much fun outside the field. Swimming at his grandma’s house-always having so much fun swimming and playing baseball (or at least looking for it). Ding dong ditching-whether it was the Dalwinies or the same house on the corner. Playing hot box in the front yard-we would play for hours until someone got hurt or someone got mad. Lemonade stand-trying to make money with a lemonade stand but people we knew from the neighborhood kept coming to help and wanted some money. Rafting at Tahlequah-going off in front of everyone to get back early & ended up jumping off the bridge & getting yelled at. Mudslide at Council Grove-making a ‘mudslide’ that we played on for hours. 4th of July at the Anderson’s=dropping fireworks in their pond and scaring the perch.
Lindsay Webb-
In elementary school we would play football. Well mainly the boys, but there was this one day that I wanted to play with them. None of the boys would let me, but Brax did. He convinced the boys to let me play. So Brax was on the opposite team and I was playing quarterback and I got the ball and Brax was just screaming at me to give him the ball. So I threw it to him and once he caught it he just laughed and laughed. I was so confused but then when he was done laughing he finally said ‘way to go dummy you threw it to the wrong team!’ He just had that goofy evil smirk and gave me a hug and said ‘it’s okay Linds!’
The day when Brax gave me the heart necklace, it was for my birthday. He tried to be all sneaky and hide it in my backpack, but I knew he was up to something. Haha. He had such a big smile that day! I can still picture it, so instead of his original plan he just gave it to me after school and he walked me home like always. Well only if he was going to his grandparent’s house. I still have his necklace and I wear it every day. Always. Love and miss you Brax! You’ll always be my first love.
Kaleb Kelley-
Two of the things I always loved about Braxton were his love for seeing new movies and how he never wanted to spend a Friday night at home alone. After football season, he was always making plans for what we were all going to do. He knew I would always come. Most of the time there was a new movie he wanted to see. Afterwards a few of us would always stay at someone’s house.
The two times we went over to Braxton’s were some of my favorite memories of him. The first time was after Garrett, Caleb, Braxton and I went to see Sinister. It was easily the scariest movie any of us had ever seen. Afterwards we all stayed at Braxton’s. We tried to pull a prank on Garrett by drawing some symbols from the movie on the wall in the laundry room. Which I am still very sorry for. When Garrett walked in he immediately freaked out and ran upstairs yelling for Rob. He came down livid, and knocked a little bit of sense back into us. Later that night, we called Kylee and asked if she would pick us up some McDonalds. With all four of us together, it ended up being around $30. When Rob found out that none of us intended on paying her back, he was pretty furious. He was mostly upset with Braxton and after he finished lecturing him all of us decided to give her some money. Besides Braxton, being himself, he refused to give in to Rob’s reasoning.
The other time I stayed overnight was after we saw Broken City. Garrett, Braden and I all stayed over. After we got back, we
all walked to McDonald’s in the frigid cold. It wasn’t until we got there that I remembered that I spent all my money at the movie theater. Luckily, Braxton had a bunch of money and was kind enough to lend me three whole dollars. After we were
done there we walked back and as soon as we got downstairs, Braxton found an airsoft gun. He spent the entire night threatening us all with it. He probably shot Braden about 20 welts, and I’m sure he had plenty of welts the next day.
I have countless memories with Brax. It would be very hart to write them all down. Some of the things I will never forget are driving to your house almost every day during football season to give him a ride somewhere, watching practice and eating seeds with him and Jeremy when I was sick, dreading running scout team or blocking drills with him, all week complaining about how Garrett got #9 because he didn’t get smacked around like us, standing on the sidelines with him freezing our butts off and just hoping we will somehow get in, turning around during basketball games and seeing him with all our friends sitting there and being in class with him and just messing around the whole time. But the thing I miss the most is just seeing him every day and that mischievous smirk you could always see and just hearing him say, ‘Hey Kaleb’.
Grace Mitchell (aka Gracie girl)-
I love you Braxton Wells Kooser. Braxton never missed one of our freshman games. He was always there supporting us and that all meant a lot to us! I had 2 classes with him 1st semester and just 1 class 2nd semester. I sat next to him in each class and always made my day brighter and happier. His smile could lite up a room. Everybody admired him and tried to be like him in every aspect of his life. He will never be forgotten either on the football field, baseball field, church or anything he did. I love him with all my heart and the Kooser family is always in my prayers. Little things he did like blow up my phone with selfies and write on my erasers the things he said or his jokes he thought will never leave me! I wish God wouldn’t have taken him so early, but God is our creator and does everything for a reason. Braxton was good at whatever he did. Braxton left such a huge impact on my life I can’t describe it in words and he did that to a lot of people. Brax will always be on my mind at night, but he’s in a better place now. Something is missing out of my life everyday it is Braxton but I will always remember the happy times with him. Your family will always be in my prayers. I love you guys! You should be proud of the 14 and a half years your son left on this earth. He touched so many people’s lives! I love you with all my heart and I can’t wait to see you again. Everybody misses you! Our senior year the girls basketball will go undefeated for you. Your always on my mind and always will be. I know you could’ve gone to MLB, but God had a different plan. I hope you’re having a blast with our creator. I love you our precious angel. Rest in paradise Brax! BK13. I love you Brax. You will always be on my mind.
Evan Green-
One of my favorite memories with Braxton was when I took him to an Oklahoma State football game. I had forgotten to tell him he needed to bring a school ID or some form of identification. We were freaking out until he called his mom and asked her to get his id and take a picture of it for him. After all that was over we went into the weight room and he was taking pictures of himself in the mirror. Then we left and went onto the football field. He walked by someone which turned out to be Brandon Weeden and was freaking out. He thought it was awesome. During the game all he was talking about was how much better K-State was then Oklahoma State. All I kept saying was wait until next year Braxton! We had an awesome time together and I know I loved spending it with him.
Megan Rooney-
Braxton was always like a brother to me. Ever since kindergarten he was always a funny and caring person. He would always be there to cheer somebody up and make them laugh. I remember one day these guys were being mean to me and Braxton asked me if I was okay and joked around with me saying he was gonna beat them up. The thing about Brax is you could never really be mad at him no matter what he did. He would always take my stuff and then give it back when I didn’t need it anymore. When I tried to do it back it never worked because he would wrestle me for it. I have so many childhood memories with him that I couldn’t even begin to write them all out. But I remember during library he would always check out Barbie books and he would read them to us in a circle and he would make us laugh. Whenever somebody said anything about KU he would freak out on them and give them a whole lecture on why K-State was better. He got our whole 5th grade class to have a contest on who could draw the K-State wildcat best. Of course he was the judge and said that his drawing was the best. I’m gonna miss Brax being here to cheer me up, make me laugh, and just being ornery and stubborn.
Justin Willson-
One of my favorite memories of Braxton was the time him and Jesse slept on the rocks. They went to another friend’s house at 1 am to watch a scary movie and I was tired and didn’t want to go. I ended up falling asleep and my mom locked the door thinking we were all inside. I found out they came back at 3 and I was asleep. They couldn’t get inside so they started banging on the window. Another great memory of Braxton was when I broke my ankle. He was telling me how many times he has gone through it and that it would be okay and to just stay positive and that the team needed me on the sidelines. It made me feel so much better when he said that. A memory that we have mentioned before was when he wanted to go teepeeing. He was telling us to do it to the Westerman’s house. We must have had at least 15 rolls of toilet paper. It was so fun other than the thought of getting caught by the cops. A few weeks ago my house got teepeed and sure enough it was Braxton who did it. I had done so much with him through Derby Jr Football, to hanging out at school. I remember when he got to be number 9 for Colby Liston, how happy he was and the fact that he got to play just made my night. I’m so glad that I had the experience of having him in my life. Love you guys so much.
Avery Noel-
Braxton is the only 14 year old kid I know that would want to have a spa/pedicure day at home. He’s the only 14 year old boy I know that chose to run around in a pair of girls’ running shorts and a scarf. He’s the only 14 year old boy that I know that got excited and danced around when he reached 60 points on Mario Cart. Brax was crazy, outgoing, independent, brave, passionate, sarcastic, straight-forward, lovable and simply amazing. He was your best friend 5 minutes after meeting him. He had the prettiest blue eyes and a perfect smile. He was handsome and he knew it…ha ha. Braxton was cocky at times but he had good reason to be. He knew he was a good athlete and he made sure everyone else did too. Watching him play football or baseball was so fun because he made it seem so easy even with broken fingers. Brax had big plans for everything. He knew what he wanted and wouldn’t settle for less. He was persistent and stubborn and always found a way to make you see things the way he saw them or made you do what he wanted to do. I mean he got the entire Derby High School and surrounding schools to wear purple. I can’t count the number of times me and him argued in one day. I’m just as stubborn as he was. But after a while I just stopped trying because he would always win. I’m glad he won those arguments because I can’t remember a time that I didn’t have fun. Everyone would get so annoyed with us because we constantly wrestled and flirted. He didn’t care though. Brax didn’t care what people thought of him. He was his own person. I remember him wearing a white v-neck shirt, ray bands and a flat-bill hat backwards at church camp…ha ha. He thought he looked so good. I also remember seeing him cry for the first time and throwing his hands up in the air when we were worshipping God at CIY. I was so unbelievably proud of him. My love for that kid grew so much at that camp. He told me once that I reminded him of his mom, Alana. He said we’re alike because we are both really nice, funny, always there, a pain in the butt and we cuss a lot. Ha ha. I always thought that that was the funniest thing. Gosh I miss him like crazy. I saw that goof ball literally every day of my life and now I just feel lost. I feel lost without his hugs, laugh, and the looks he would give me. He was constantly telling people he loved them. Not hearing those words from him anymore just breaks my heart. Nothing can describe how much I love him. Knowing that he is in heaven and resting in paradise leaves feelings of happiness after this very unfortunate accident. Braxton Wells Kooser will forever be remembered and talked about. He’s dearly loved and missed by so many people. I absolutely cannot wait to see his beautiful, shinning face again.
Riley Adams-
I don’t even know where to start, there is so many memories I have with Braxton. I guess I will start when we went to Oklahoma State for the game against West Virginia, we went with Evan and he had recruiting tickets so we got to go in the weight room, tunnel, on the field, and good seats. Braxton and I took a mirror picture in the mirrors in the weight room ha ha. That was a great day and I never wanted it to end, he was being so funny. I remember we were coming out of the stadium and these people were tailgating we ran over there to see the Alabama vs Texas A&M game I think when Texas beat them, and we were going crazy. Then it started raining on our way walking out to the car. We got to Evan’s house that night and Braxton was making Evan I both mad. He hid Evan’s phone and was messing with us both. It was so funny.
Then there was the night Kaleb, Braxton and I were going to go to Riley Spainhour’s house to hangout after one of the basketball games and we ended up going to Wendy’s to eat and there was a vacuum that we said we were going to steal because it would be hilarious, but we never did! We never did go to Riley’s house we went to Wal-Mart to meet up with Caleb and Alex. We went to Caleb’s and decided to play hostage, so Kaleb and I were driver and navigator of one car and Kylee and Ashley were the driver and navigator for the other car. Kylee dropped Braxton and Cassidy off somewhere and Kaleb and I dropped Alex and Caleb off somewhere. That night was so funny and scary ha ha! Kaleb and I had to go find Braxton but Kaleb had to drop me off because I had work in the morning so Kaleb calls me and says look this place up on your phone and gave me the address where Braxton said he was and it was like 5 miles in the middle of nowhere from my house and it took them forever to find them. I told my dad that night that they couldn’t find Braxton and he said we should go look for him abut I said it was part of the game!
Another fun one was the weekend before everything happened we were at Caleb’s. Braxton, Caleb, Kaleb, Alex, Taylor, Elena and I. Somebody T-ped my house the day before and I found out who it was so we all went to go T-P them and we got them pretty good until we thought we saw someone. On the way there we thought we saw a little kid hanging from a fence but on the way back we realized it was a water pump. Lol. We all were wearing our hats that night! Those made us really cool by the way.
I remember Rob calling me and asking me to play with the older tigers for a tournament and I said yes and was really excited.
Braxton and I just got over a big fight we had, and I was telling myself I can’t play bad or mess up because I will be made fun of forever. Braxton came up to me before the game and we both apologized and that really helped. I was so nervous and first at bat got a base hit so all the nerves were gone and Braxton told me good job. Next at bat I hit another one. I was really proud but we really weren’t playing that well. The last game that night I was on third and we were down a lot and Braxton was up and hit a deep deep bomb! I thought it was gone but I was ready to tag u and the outfielder caught it over the fence I swear. We were both mad and I couldn’t believe it, but I was so proud of him.
The Monday before everything happened we went to Derby Donut after zero hour and Braxton paid for Kaleb, Garrett and I.
I owed him $3 still that I meant to give to him Friday so Rob or Alana if you’re reading this and you want $3 hit me up!!! Ha ha, but I kind of felt bad…I know there is nothing I can do about it now.
There is so many, and I’m sorry but, I remember when Tyce, Braxton and I went to High Park for some big party thing and we were waiting for my dad and this guy drove by and Tyce acted like he threw a little tennis ball at him or something and the guy whipped out a U-turn and stopped and got out and acted like he was going to beat us up. I just had my surgery and could hardly walk so Braxton and Tyce got in front of me and the guy picked up Braxton from his shirt and Braxton said it wasn’t me it was him and pointed at Tyce and he picked up Tyce and Tyce was like we didn’t throw anything I’m sorry!! Then the guy drove off and we told my dad and we went looking for him but never did find him!
Another one with Braxton and Tyce is they came over one time and we went ding dong ditching these people with a camera on their porch and we put our shorts over our heads and we had compression short son and we ran so fast it felt like, it was hilarious. Brady was with us too but didn’t go past the driveway. Well that’s it, Braxton we will miss and love you so much. Alana and Rob we love you guys. Brody and Brecken, you guys are awesome and keep being amazing people we love you. You guys will make your parents and Braxton proud not to mention all of us friends.
Melanie McCormick-
There’s a lot of memories I could write on here…but some of my favorites are the first day of spring break, 8th grade we went to my house and Braxt was wearing a cowboy hat and holding the giant exercise ball I have. I started running at him and bounced off the ball. I remember just going up in the air and straight back on the ground hitting my head so hard and all we could do was laugh. Or in Mr. Klish’s class when we got 3 days of lunch detention together. Or how he ALWAYS asked me for answers even on the easiest things. Or how every time I laughed he told me to calm down because I sounded like I was having a heart attack. Or how everyday he’d flick me in the neck just to make me mad and watch it turn bright red. But my all time favorite is and always will be watching Silver Linings Playbook with him and sitting right beside him laughing at the movie and the car ride home. I’m really thankful God had me spend his last day hanging out with him. I’ll never understand it…but I sure am glad.
Jose Estrada-
\I had a lot of memories with Braxton. But my favorite one is when we were on the panther stadium. Coming out of that locker room holding your hand was one of the best feelings. Going under that panther tunnel gave me chills. I loved being on that field with you buddy. I love you Braxton and miss you so much. BK13 Rest in Paradise.
Alex Helt-
A couple favorite memories of me and Braxton. I always loved coming to most of his baseball games last summer. I always loved being there to support him and cheer him on. I would always brag and say I was there to watch Braxton because he was one of the best on the tiger’s team and he always made me so proud. I don’t remember being at a game where they lost. Another favorite memory was last summer at Melanie’s house. Braxton would stand at one end of Melanie’s basement and someone would stand at the other end. Braxton was holding an exercise ball and the two people at each ends of Melanie’s
basement would ram each other and whoever would run into Braxton would be thrown across the room. Definitely one of
the best days of my life. One more of my favorite memories of me and Braxton was when we were at Caleb Sheldon’s house and I fell asleep on the chair in Caleb’s living room and my head was laying on the arm rest. Braxton decides to sit on my face while I was sleeping and I woke up to Braxton’s butt in my face. He would NOT get off my face, even after I was awake. So I take my legs and wrap them around his shoulders to get him off my face and that boy grabs hold of my legs and stands up and starts flinging me around like a rag doll. I love that boy so much…I miss you Braxton.
Zack White-
Memories of Braxton-playing every season of baseball with him for 7 years. His birthday 2 years ago at his house and the community pool. Him and everyone on the team making fun of me for not being able to swim. Playing my first and only season of football with him. Him handing me the ball during the all star game and me scoring my only 2 point conversion of the season. Goofing around in the hotel for fall ball. Playing woofle ball in the dark with the team at a tournament in Manhattan last summer. Calling him Braxtypoo. Him telling me to jump in the deep end of the Green’s pool at our tiger’s celebration 3 years ago. Arguing with him that A-Rod was horrible player for every year that we have played together. The trip with him up to KC for a fall ball tournament. The way we would argue about KU and K-State. Us being the 1st two at hitting everyday this year. The way he’d be like I get all the ladies to the guys on the team. When him and Tyce were swimming when they weren’t supposed to and they got in trouble. The WSU game we went to as a team. Braxt, Tyce, Caleb, Braden, Corey and me playing woofle ball in my driveway. Us throwing rocks at Braden while he was riding my lawn mower. Going to Tallianos and seeing Garrett and them going to dollar General and messing around in the toys section and trying on bras and little kids hats.
Madi Young-
There are a lot of memories that I had with Brax. Every time I looked at him he always smiled and that made me smile. I always looked up to him like he was my big brother. One time he texted me at school but I didn’t have my phone so he was a little angry that I didn’t answer him but then after school I talked to him. I will really miss him and I know you do too.
Jonah Packard-
The football game vs. Hutch, I just remember we had just scored and then we were in blue check and I completely forgot and it happened 2 or 3 times and it was seriously the worst game of my life. But he was always there for me saying like it’s alright don’t worry about it, just get it next time. He was always that guy for me because I screw up a lot and he always helped me fix it or tell me it’s fine. But after the game of course he never would stop giving me crap about it because that’s what friends do. And that’s just what he was to me a loving, caring, special friend. If I could choose one word to describe him it would be SPECIAL. He was special.
Brett Westerman-
I have had many great memories with Braxton but a couple that really stand out to me was when I was 8 and I was in the on deck circle before an at bat. I was talking to Braxton and he pointed over the left field wall, with a broken arm. He told me I was gonna hit a home run. That at bat I came up and hit a home run right where he pointed. That was my favorite memory
with Braxton. Another great memory was when we went to the KSU Vs. TEXAS game. If KSU won they clinched the Big 12. They did win!! It was so fun cause we got to rush the field and we were taking pictures and thought we were the coolest people in the world. I will never forget that night. It was one of the best night of my life and Braxton made it ten times better! I love you Braxton!
Caleb Smith (his speech from Braxton's funeral)-
It is a privilege to stand here today and speak about my relationship with Braxton as his football coach and weights teacher. It was really cool and powerful to see all the purple worn to Derby High School on Monday to honor Braxton. Braxton was one of the biggest K-State fans I know. It brought a lot of joy to his close friends and family to see all that purple. However, had Braxton not been a K-State fan and we had to see blue & red Jayhawk shirts all day, I'm afraid it would not have had the same impact!
I remember Braxton being a very passionate kid about many things-Kansas State, Derby Panther Football, Tiger Baseball and most importantly his Faith in Jesus Christ. Braxton was one of the first Freshman this year to wear the "#9" jersey that represented Colby Liston and his character. The jersey went to one freshman chosen by the seniors each week to be worn on Friday night based on the effort and attitude they displayed at practice that week. Braxton was quickly recognized as a player with the high character, effort, and concept of team that Colby represented. When he was told he was chosen, he was honored and wanted to represent Colby well. I can remember that Friday night at Maize I turned to him late in the game and said are you ready? His eyes lit up, he was not expecting me to say that! With his big nervous smile I told him, just don't let anyone behind you! He went out there and playing the corner position he gave that receiver a 20 yard cushion to ensure that did not happen! They threw a screen his way which meant he now had to run up to the ball about 30 yards after a 10 yard back pedal. He broke down to make that first varsity tackle........and then he fell. Luckily, one of his football brothers at the safety spot made the tackle and we held them on 3rd down.
He came off the field with a huge smile. He didn't care what happened on the play, he just got on the Varsity Football field for the Derby Panthers. After the game he was on Cloud 9. I knew that was an experience he had been waiting for his entire life. He tweeted that night that it was the greatest moment of his life and he was going to give 110% every day so he could wear #9 again. Braxton always gave 110%.
Another memory I recall, at some point in the season we were preparing for an option team and I don't recall the exact details of what we were doing but the drill basically had the scout team become tackling dummies. Some kids would do their best to hide as they weren't real interested in being a tackling dummy for the likes of Ben Becker, Chandler Ayer, Braxton Jones and Jose Delgado. As I turned to give the play, two kids stepped up immediately, Garrett Xanders and Braxton Kooser were nervously willing to give it all they had. Garrett went first and Ben Becker just lit him up-I turned to Braxton and said you ready? He just gave me that Braxton smile and said Yep. While I know Braxton wanted no part of Jose Delgado, he was willing to do anything for the team and was the type of player coaches love to have around.
I shared with Braxton his passion for Kansas State, Panther football and of course spa pedicures. He wasn't afraid to be himself. If you also knew Braxton's personality, he had many close friends because of the type of person he was. He went out of his way to make people laugh and to make people happy. Most of the time he was either playing a prank on his friends or doing something nice to make them smile. He had many close friends on my girls Basketball team and would be one of the 4 or 5 student fans at the Freshmen girl's games cheering them on. He made sure to let the girls know he cared about them every day. But what I admire most about Braxton was his willingness to share his faith and his love for Jesus Christ. And for that, I know he is sitting in heaven, cheering on his Panthers, his Wildcats and his Derby Tigers with that Braxton Smile that we will all forever remember.
HERE ARE PICTURES FROM SOME OF THE MEMORIES SHARED ABOVE