AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - Longtime Randall head boys basketball coach Leslie Broadhurst passed away on Monday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 66.
Since Randall High School opened its doors in 1988, the walls of the legendary House of Doom have seen a multitude of events transpire. The House of Doom played host to eight wrestling state champion teams, two girls basketball state championship teams, two volleyball state championship teams, and countless kids, athletes and coaches coming through its doors.
But they’ve only seen one head boys basketball coach: Leslie Broadhurst.
“If we went out and interviewed 1,001 people right now, today, 1000 of those would have a Leslie Broadhurst story,” Texas Panhandle sports reporter & Hall of Famer Lance Lahnert said. “Very few of us wake up and get to go to a job we love to do. Leslie Broadhurst did that as a coach, as a teacher, as a mentor for young teachers and young coaches.”
Broadhurst coached 36 years at Randall, leading students and coaches alike with humility, kindness and hard work.
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“There‘s this quote that says, ’Stand out in a positive and appealing way,' and he just did that,” Randall head girls basketball coach Brooke Walthall said. “He just stood out to people. He made them feel special, he made them feel seen.”
During his decades-long tenure with the school, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone more involved, both on the court and beyond.
“You know, I get a couple coaches that will come watch our shows if they have a kid in it, but, Les was here every year,” Randall theatre director Cy Scroggins said. “It didn’t matter if we had a basketball player in the show or not. That was him. If it was black and silver, he loved it.”
To say Broadhurst was “more than a coach” would almost be doing his impact a disservice. There are very few people who met Leslie Broadhurst, in a basketball environment or otherwise, who didn’t leave happier than before.
“I think that was just the epitome of Broadhurst,” former Randall head volleyball coach Haleigh Burns said. “Having those relationships and those kids that would do anything for you. That means more than any win, any medal, any trophy.”
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As a coach, he inspired his own players to become the next generation on the sidelines, some even going on to coach with or against him. Kendall Cogburn and Keenan Hooker, respectively head and assistant boys basketball coaches at West Plains, each carry Broadhurst’s teachings with them today.
“He was hard on us, but he was compassionate, too, all at the same time,” Hooker said. “I catch myself reminding myself to treat these young men the way [Broadhurst treated me].”
“A lot of the time, we get wrapped up in the pressures and the stresses of a big game, or whatever it may be,” Cogburn said. “He always just made sure we had fun. We try to emulate him [at West Plains] all the time.”
All coaches leave an impact on their players. Most coaches leave an impact on their fellow staff. Few coaches leave an impact on everyone in their ecosystem: parents, media members, etc. Leslie Broadhurst was not most coaches.
“He definitely left an impression on my son,” Texas Panhandle Sports Network broadcaster Lucas Kinsey said. “Being around the players that played for Coach Broadhurst, you saw it. You saw it. After games, their arms around him, loving on their coach. I think they cared just as much about him [winning] as they did for themselves, and that says a lot.”
In 2023 and 2024, Broadhurst‘s last two years with the team, he led the Raiders to back-to-back state tournament appearances, an accomplishment he’d been patiently awaiting for his entire career beforehand.
“When they had to play Canyon in the regional finals, I wanted it so much for them,” Burns said. “Just to see like him getting that, and earning every bit of it... I think that was super special. People wanted it for him and people wanted him to be successful, just because of who he was as a person.”
Broadhurst’s accolades on the court were many, but his impact off the court will ripple for generations. No one loved Randall High School more.
I love the school. I mean, there might be somebody that loves it more than me, but I’d like to meet them. Because I don’t know if anybody loves that school more than I love it.
— Leslie Broadhurst
You can watch Sports Drive on Wednesday, Oct. 30, to see the full interviews with each of the above subjects.
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