08/11/2026
Sharing the Shaw Media “FRIDAY NIGHT DRIVE” article from today 8/11/26
Braden Foster is the coach Hampshire needed. Even at 2 a.m.
Carmel graduate seeks to start new tradition
New Hampshire football coach Braden Foster is fully devoted to his team. He will be there for his players any time. Even midnight.
He promises to be true to them every day. Even Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, till death do they part, or something like that.
Nov. 14 is the day Foster plans to marry his fiancee, Morgan. That day also happens to be state semifinal weekend.
“I told my fiancee, ‘Hey, if we’re still playing, I’ll find someone else to fill in for me at the altar,’ ” Foster said.
Just joking, Morgan.
“She understands,” Foster said. “She’s the best, man. I know the most important part of being a coach is being able to come home to someone that you trust and love, and that’s her.”
The 6-foot-4 Foster, a mountain of a man, has a knack for developing relationships. He was named to replace Shane Haak, who coached Hampshire the past three seasons, in February, and his players immediately took a liking to him.
Foster’s offseason training program commenced Feb. 20. He had his players at hello.
“He’s been great,” senior quarterback Tyler Lacke said. “He’s coming in here every day, ready to work, ready to change for us. I feel like everybody’s felt that change, and everybody is committed to that change. Last year we’d have off-season workouts and maybe seven guys would show up. Now we have 80-plus every day. It’s the standard now. Everybody’s got to be here. Everybody’s got to come here and work.”
Senior linebacker/tight end Jacob Ostrowski knew right away that Hampshire’s administration got it right when it hired the 26-year-old Foster, who leads his team into action for its season opener Friday, Aug. 21 at Huntley in Fox Valley Conference action.
“He brought immediate change to the culture,” Ostrowski said. “I loved him from the first time I met him.”
Ostrowski isn’t alone.
Foster held a midnight practice Friday into Saturday and hopes to make it a tradition at Hampshire. At conclusion of the two-hour practice, which was the Whip-Purs’ second in six hours, players lined up in single file. Foster greeted each of them with a hand slap and hug, after repeatedly telling them during a post-practice gathering that he loved them and that he was proud of them.
The first-year head coach, a Carmel graduate (class of 2018) who served as Mundelein’s offensive coordinator last year, oversees 127 players. Nary a player or parent missed the practice, which was held in the stadium and was accompanied by a crescent moon and a taco truck parked by the concession stand.
“Everybody else in the conference is sleeping right now,” Ostrowski said at about 2 a.m. Saturday. “We’re putting in the extra work.”
Foster loves the work, loves the grind, loves football. Relationship-building goes beyond his players and Morgan.
Midnight practice is an idea he borrowed from one of his coaching mentors, Brian Sauser. Foster coached under Sauser, the former head coach at Ames High in Iowa, near Iowa State University, where Foster attended. Sauser used midnight practice to mark the first day of summer when high school players could practice in full pads.
Sauser used midnight practice to kick off the first day of summer that high school players could practice in helmets and pads.
“I think it’s a great tradition,” Foster said. “We’re going to keep it up. The energy right now is unbelievable. The kids are very excited about everything.”
Foster credits coaching mentors like Auburn’s Alex Golesh and Northwestern’s David Braun with teaching him that culture is built on relationships, not just strategy.
“This is what I love,” Foster said. “I love the kids. I love the culture. I love everything about high school sports. There’s nothing better than Friday Night Lights. You can play at Arlington Stadium [in Texas] and have 75,000 people screaming at you, but there’s no greater feeling than playing for your community on Friday nights.”
Foster considers himself blessed for his opportunity at Hampshire, which is seeking its first playoff return since 2021 after winning only three games last year. He moved six minutes from the school and will teach strength and conditioning to students.
“There are a bunch of people that I can learn from each and every day,” Foster said of his coaching contacts. “The second I stay stagnant as a coach is when I’m failing these kids, so I got to constantly keep learning, constantly keep evolving my game, and do what’s best for the kids.”
No matter the time or day.
