Back in Alumni Stadium, Lebanon coach Brett Sylve aims to build on foundation

Brett Sylve is a native of Hammond, Louisiana, who’s been around football all of his life.

He may not be a mind reader or a miracle worker, and in some ways, the 29-year-old Sylve is finding his own way. Right now, though, Sylve isn’t overly concerned with wins, winning, or results – at least not on the field. He wants to be a role model, an advocate, a mentor.

Sylve wants to provide the Lebanon Cedars with an opportunity to play football.

“In my whole life, nothing has been given to me,” said Sylve. “I’ve always been the underdog. I worked my way on to the field. I kept pushing through. This is nothing new to me. We’re going to choose our battles.”

A couple of months ago, Sylve had the “interim” removed from his title of “Lebanon High’s interim head football coach.” It was a title he inherited before the start of the 2025 season, after new head coach Tyler Pritchett stepped aside for personal reasons.

Sylve had served as LHS’s offensive coordinator during Pritchett’s single season as head coach. With Sylve at the helm in 2025, Lebanon enjoyed what has become a fairly typical Cedar season, one focused on identifying positives – some of which were easier to find than others.

“We had ups and downs,” said Sylve. “It was a rollercoaster ride. With me becoming the head coach in the spring, we didn’t have time to rally the troops. Some practices we had a handful of guys showing up. We’re trying to do more interactions to give them reasons to show up.”

Because of ongoing renovations at Lebanon Alumni Stadium, the Cedars did not play at home last year, Sylve’s first as a head football coach on any level. The hope is that Alumni Stadium will be ready for Lebanon’s 2026 home opener against Reading on Sept. 11.

“Last year, every game we played was on the road,” said Sylve. “We were everybody’s homecoming. Last year, wasn’t all bad; we had some success. Now we want to build on it.

“The year before, we were just a passing team. Last year, our offensive line developed a lot. It was something that was a plus for us. We had athletes take jumps. We had a lot of guys who made growth in the weight room and just in their football knowledge. We had a couple of guys make all-county and play in all-star games. We had a guy go play college football.”

This year, Lebanon will begin its season on Friday, Aug. 28, at Daniel Boone. Preseason preparations, which informally began in January, have included spring drills and then formal training camp in August.

Last season, the Cedars began their campaign with about 30 student-athletes and ended their year with about 21 players, a great majority of whom were seniors. During this offseason, Sylve has been working with about 25 players.

“I feel like we’re going to be more prepared this year because we’ve been with them (his players),” he said. “Right now, we’re definitely in a better place. I want them to play more comfortable, that’s what I’m hoping for this year.

“I have people who I can lean on. You have got to recruit players here. I see all of these big kids walking around. I’m not going to get all of them, but I’ll get some of them. I’ve tried to extend my reach a little bit. There are people who don’t want to see us in the boat we’re in, and they’re willing to help.”

Lebanon High has lost 52 straight games. The Cedars’ last victory was a 32-23 homecoming triumph over Garden Spot on Oct. 9, 2020.

“I feel like winning is important,” said Sylve. “For me personally, I hate losing more. At this level, there are other things besides winning. If we clean up some things, three-touchdown losses can become one-touchdown losses, and one-touchdown losses can become one-touchdown wins. We’ve been going back to basics and fundamentals. It’s really just the little things. We’re just trying to be consistent with the kids. I think that’s really going to show up on Friday nights and show up on tape. It’s going to lead to wins.

“‘Be one of 11,’ that’s been our saying the last two years. Relationships and life aren’t going to work without trust. I want to model consistency. It starts at the top. We’re going to give them (the players) a couple of opportunities to grow, and just teach them. It definitely looks a little better and feels a little better.”

After an outstanding college career at Kentucky State, Sylve played a year of professional football in Germany. He was coaching college ball in Michigan when Pritchett reached out to him about a scholastic coaching opportunity in Lebanon.

“Stability at the head coaching position is important,” said Sylve. “You want kids to know they’re coming into something that’s established. When we came here, we inherited the streak. We didn’t know anything about it. Just continuing the rapport with the kids, that’s the biggest thing. Some of these kids don’t have stability in their home lives. We want to be role models and mentors.

“These kids we have coming up need support from their families and their community. That’s something I’m trying to work on. Our kids aren’t the most motivated by themselves. We want to instill in our players the attitude, ‘If I want this to change, I have to be the one who does it.’”