MUSKEGON TOWNSHIP - Reeths-Puffer lacrosse was a family affair for Kyler Brainard long before he was old enough to join the varsity squad and become its most prolific scorer.
His brother, Caden Brainard, was a standout with the Rockets for three years before Kyler reached high school.
He was there every game to watch Caden play for some pretty good R-P teams, and was thrilled when he finally became a freshman and got to play one season with him.
Brainard said he loved that season, competing with and learning from his brother, who is now a standout with the Hope College lacrosse team.
“I got to play with him my freshman year, which was really cool,” Brainard said. “We were on the same attack line, which was really fun. We have been practicing together our whole lives and he’s taught me a ton.
R-P's Kyler Brainard
“He plays at Hope now, but I’m still watching and learning from him as much as I can. Hope is really good. They’ve had a ton of success in the past few years.”
Brainard also has a family connection in the press box. His father, Joe Brainard, is the longtime PA announcer for R-P home games and gets pretty creative with the job.
He makes up and uses fun nicknames for R-P players when he announces their names – except Kyler, who is probably spared to avoid eyerolls or complaints at home.
“He gets the team fired up and has some fun up in the booth,” Brainard said about his dad’s enthusiastic announcing style. “He usually gives my teammates the funny nicknames and says my name with less enthusiasm.”
A lot of teens would be a little mortified to hear a parent’s voice over the loudspeaker during a game, making up corny nicknames for their teammates. That’s just how adolescents are.
Brainard admits that's the case for him sometimes, but he lets it roll off his back.
Brainard (5) and his family during his freshman year: Dad Joe (left), brother Caden and mom Lynelle.
“Sometimes it annoys me, to be honest, but it’s all right cause I know he likes doing it,” he said.
Brainard’s dad has been announcing Kyler’s name a lot this year, because he’s has been on a scoring rampage all season, helping the Rockets overcome an 0-3 start and rip off eight victories in a row heading into Tuesday’s home game against Grand Rapids Christian.
Brainard currently has an amazing 41 goals in 11 games, which includes a lot of three- and four-goal games, which have become routine for him.
He’s also had some real headline-grabbing performances.
He scored five goals in a huge win over rival Mona Shores a few weeks ago. He scored six times against Kenowa Hills earlier in the season.
Brainard has an amazing 41 goals so far this season.
Brainard really outdid himself last Friday, however, scoring eight goals with three assists in a victory over Northville.
It’s become clear to R-P’s opponents that they have some big challenges when facing the Rockets, and the biggest is trying to keep Brainard in check.
Brainard credits his teammates for setting him up for all the goals, and says winning games is the only thing that matters.
“It’s always been a goal of mine to be scoring a lot,” said Brainard, who is only 5 feet, 8 inches tall and manages to thrive in a pretty physical sport. “But this year I’ve been more focused on winning and letting the goals and assists come any way they will. As long as we’re winning, I’m happy.”
Happy is not a term that Brainard uses when describing his sophomore and junior seasons.
Brainard battles toward the goal, surrounded by opposing defenders.
Simply put, the Rockets were not very good. They finished with a 4-14 record in his sophomore season and had a 4-12 mark last year.
So even as Brainard was improving and developing, he said the experience was not everything it could have been.
Things are far different this season, because after an 0-3 start, the senior-dominated Rockets have reeled off eight straight victories and sit in first place alone atop the O-K Conference Tier 3 division.
Obviously winning makes everything more fun, but in this case it was kind of the other way around, according to Brainard.
He said he and his teammates decided before the season to have more fun, regardless of how things went, and he thinks that new attitude has contributed to the success.
Brainard tries to work past a defender. Photo/Jeremy Clark
“That’s been one of our biggest team goals, to just have more fun as a group,” Brainard said. “’That has led to a lot more success. We mentioned that as a group. The past two years, for a lot of us seniors, were not as much fun as we would have liked.”
A determination to have fun is only part of the difference this season, according to Brainard.
“I think it’s a mix of our energy and schemes,” he said. “The team is much more dedicated and we all want to be there, and there’s the coaching, especially with Coach Logan (Mayette), who has done a great job as offensive coordinator. He has implemented a lot of new things.”
R-P head coach Josh Robidoux, a former assistant who took the top job this year, said Brainard was more interested in setting up goals for teammates in the past, but was encouraged to do more scoring himself this year.
“He went from being a distributor and passer to a goal scorer, which we needed this year,” Robidoux said. “He has always been an unselfish player looking for opportunities for others, but we knew what he was capable of and kind of urged him to be a little more selfish. He has stepped up big this season, that’s for sure.”