Lyles brothers begin life as pros together

By Ka'Deem Wynn for DyeStat

More than anything, the Lyles brothers always knew they wanted to follow their track and field dreams together.

Noah (19) and Josephus (18), recent graduates of T.C. Williams HS in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Alexandria, Va., left a lasting mark on prep track before deciding to skip college and become professional athletes.

Noah's success at the Olympic Trials, where he placed fourth in the 200 meters, factored into the decision. It told the brothers that they were ready to take an unconventional leap forward.

Their mother, Keisha Caine Lyles, was initially reticent at the thought of her sons pursuing the professional avenue over college, especially at such a young age. After all, no male high school sprinters have ever gone straight from high school to a shoe contract. However, she did agree that it was worth exploring all of her talented sons' options.

Early in their senior year, Noah and Josephus interviewed potential agents who could represent them in case they decided to turn pro. But as the year progressed, they felt they weren't finding anyone that truly understood their vision and aspirations for track. So after juggling the college vs. pro idea for a time, Noah and Josephus, together, decided last November to accept scholarship offers from the University of Florida.

Then came their competitive seasons. Noah ran 20.63 in the 200 meters indoors and repeated as the New Balance Nationals Indoor champion. He would go on to run 10.14 in the 100 meters and 20.23 in the 200 during his final high school campaign. Josephus, meanwhile, ran 20.73 and 45.94 but was forced to shut down his season prematurely because of an injured quadriceps muscle.

At the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., Noah dropped two jaw-dropping 200-meter races, running 20.04 wind legal in the first round and 20.09 in the finals, just missing the final spot on the U.S. Olympic team. Two weeks prior, Noah had also run 10.08 in the 100 meters at the USATF Junior National Championships.

“We were strongly leaning towards the idea (of turning pro) before then, but I think that was the day (the U.S. Trials) that we as a family said ‘We are doing this,’” Josephus said.

The next hurdle was telling Florida that they would not be coming to school there -- despite all of the Gator chop posts on social media -- and telling the coaches there, and the rest of the public, the reason why. 

Noah said it wasn't an easy decision. The brothers, and the rest of the family, wrestled with the choice. College would offer them an education, true. An accepted offer from Adidas could offer an education and also the opportunity to become financially independent right away, all while training to be world class athletes.  

Having signed with Adidas shortly before Josephus’ 18th birthday, the younger brother came up with the idea for he and Noah to tweet out “Pro Athlete” at the same time. The only problem was that, at the time, Noah was in Poland at the U-20 World Championships.

“It’s really funny because Josephus called me in Poland on his birthday and was like, ‘Ok, we are going to announce going pro at the same time.’” Noah said.  

Eventually, the two found a time that worked and were able to share the big news in true Lyles fashion: Together.

More than two months later, the brothers said that it hasn’t fully hit them that they’re now professional athletes and both agree that it probably won’t until they begin training. But there’s still a little ways to go.

“So far everything has been going really well,” Noah said. “Our agent, Mark Wetmore, and his team at Global Athletics have helped us a lot. We are just setting up our new housing and getting ready for the new season.”

After meeting Wetmore in June, Noah and Josephus agreed that he was the best agent to represent them. When they asked Wetmore to explore their market value with the shoe companies, he came back with some options and after some deliberation, Adidas was the winner. 

Noah said that Adidas supported the desire to stay together, which was a major reason for their signing, gave them no reductions for four years, allowing them time to grow. Plus, the company was willing to invest in their education as well. 

“The atmosphere of Adidas was also comfortable and we felt that their views matched with ours,” Noah said.

Everything seemed to fall into place for the boys, except for the hardest part about the transition: Leaving mom. 

“Our mother has been a big part of me and my brother’s success,” Josephus said. “She always made sure we ate right, she set up appointments for us, and is ultimately our manager.” 

After all, mothers know best.

The brothers have moved south to sunny Florida and have moved into an apartment about a mile from their future workout track at the National Training Center in Clermont, Fla. They'll spend their work days training under former Arkansas assistant and founder of Pure Athletics, Lance Brauman. They'll be part of Brauman's training group there as well. 

The apartment has a room reserved for Keisha Caine Lyles as well so that she always has a place to stay.

“She’s been giving us the crash course on how to live by ourselves for the past couple months,” Josephus said.

Even though mom and other immediate family is 14 hours away in Virginia, the Lyles brothers have extended family members in Jacksonville, Gainesville and Orlando. Noah and Josephus were both born in Florida about 12 months apart. 

The brothers are going to take a little time to settle into their new situation.

“Right now we are taking a gap year. The plan is next year to begin college,” Josephus said.

Most likely, they’ll attend school part time in order to juggle school work with training. Adidas has committed to paying the bill for their college tuition. The brothers say it would be a mistake to pass up that opportunity.

Mrs. Lyles explained that by the time the decision to go pro was made, it was too late to enroll at another school. At the same time, the family was in the process of locating a place for the brothers to train and live.  

“We wanted to make our decisions without the pressure of rushing to enroll in school,” she said. “Therefore, we decided it would be best to take a gap year. This would give the boys the opportunity to set themselves up for success academically and athletically.”

The brothers said they want to be productive in their year off from school and give back to the community and help kids any way they can, whether volunteering at a nearby hospital or helping out at local schools.  

If fall training goes well, the Lyles brothers could make their pro racing debuts indoors over the winter. If plans change, they could start outdoors in the spring with the hopes of preparing for the U.S. Championships and possible spots on the 2017 World Championships team.