COSBY — On June 19, Kaylan Cole stood on the Cosby softball field holding a ball and bat.
She had been named the Lady Eagles’ new head coach the previous Monday, replacing longtime head coach Mike Bryant.
As Cole held the ball, a thin blue bracelet was visible on her right wrist.
It read “BREAKER STRONG,” a nod to Cosby alumnus and former coach Breaker Weeks, who died in September 2020 at the age of 44 after two different bouts with brain cancer.
Well before his death, Weeks had a standout career at Cosby High School, playing on the first-ever Cosby football team before walking on at Tennessee.
But as he grew older and started a family, Weeks also impacted plenty of athletes across Cocke County.
Cole was one of them, as she played for Weeks from ages 5 to 12 and again as a 14-year-old.
Weeks was also best friend’s with Cole’s father, becoming a second father figure for Cole throughout her upbringing.
“He was everything you could ask for in a dad,” Cole said. “From Daycee to Shylee to me and other athletes in the county — every girl that played softball knew Breaker Weeks. Every boy that played football knew Breaker Weeks.
“He was the core of the community here, whether you played for Cocke County or Cosby. He knew you, and he would hug you.”
Cole emphasized that she wants to be that kind of person in the community, highlighting athletes no matter the school they choose.
“I don’t want to be that divider,” she said. “I want to celebrate athletes and good humans, and that was for wherever I ended up.
“We have to celebrate athletes. If we don’t, there’s nothing to work for. And that celebrating is something he always did.”
Cole had plenty of experience with Weeks’ celebrating and his influence, growing up with Weeks’ daughters, Daycee and Shylee.
Shylee graduated from Cosby this past spring after earning All-State honors twice for the Lady Eagles, and she led Cosby to the 2023 state tournament as a junior.
Before Cosby left for that tournament in Murfreesboro, Bryant had invited Cole — then in the midst of her career with Tennessee
Tech — to speak to the team.
And when the invitation was extended, Cole knew exactly
what — and who — she would speak about.
“When Mike asked me to come speak, I said that I couldn’t not talk about Breaker,” she said. “He gave me all my hype, so there’s no way I couldn’t.”
Throughout her time addressing the Lady Eagles, Cole’s eyes fixed on Shylee Weeks, emphasizing the importance of that moment for the program and her family.
“Having Shylee look at me that whole speech and her being my little sister and knowing Breaker couldn’t be there, I took that piece to tell her he was so proud of her,” Cole said. “Talk about an amazing athlete and kid. I took that chance to look at those kids and tell them he would be so proud and hyped that they were going to do that.”
“He was a blue blood,” added Bryant of Weeks. “His whole family is full of some of the best athletes we’ve ever had here. So when she’s talking about coming and speaking, for her to speak from that perspective, it speaks to the heart of being an Eagle.”
But that was not the only occurrence in which Cole brought up Weeks and his impact in her life.
Rather, she references his legacy often, dating back to the impact that ranged from the time she was young until well after the day she signed with Tennessee after a standout career at The King’s Academy.
“When I signed with The University of Tennessee, he was wearing Cosby gear,” Cole said with a laugh. “He had Tennessee gear. But he was wearing Cosby stuff. That’s just who he was.”
“It meant the world to be able to speak on his behalf in any situation,” she added. “I talk about him 24/7. He was such a light in my life.”
Cole referenced Weeks when she was at Tennessee, speaking about him during a Strike Out Cancer event hosted by the Lady Vols.
He also texted her before every game, offering encouragement in the midst of his treatment.
Cole has carried that spirit with her while teaching lessons to kids, a spirit which will remain especially present now that she is the head coach on The Hill.
“When I’m coaching or when I’m talking to a kid, I’m like, ‘What would he have done?” she said.
“Breaker would have died on The Hill,” Cole added. “He loved it up here. That’s part of the reason why, when I told my dad I was taking this job, he said, ‘You’re going to bleed blue.’
“And Breaker was the same way. Once you get immersed in this culture, you’re stuck.”
The same can be said for the bracelet on Cole’s wrist, which she gripped along with a softball for a fitting photo.
But even if she did not have the bracelet, Cole knows that she will have Weeks with her each day at Cosby — especially so when she walks onto the dirt where he once served as an assistant coach.
“Even if I didn’t have this piece here, he is a piece of me,” she said. “He left way too soon. But I know every step I take in Cosby blue, I have a piece of him wherever I go now.
“Even being on this field, on this campus, he is here.”
And if Weeks would have found out before his death that Cole would wind up coming back to his favorite place to coach?
“He would have said I was lying,” Cole said with a teary grin. “He would have never imagined my feet being right here. But it’s so special. So, so special.”
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