John Adams Academy's Brelynn Shirey wins Model Coach award

John Adams Academy is a TK-12 school in Roseville that has about 400 high school students, along with two other campuses in Lincoln and El Dorado Hills. The Roseville campus opened in 2015 and has nine sports in which students can participate. Brelynn Shirey has been at the school since 2016 and coaches boys' and girls' volleyball, along with girls' basketball. She was named as one of six Model Coach winners for the 2021-22 year for the Sac-Joaquin Section. According to the section, the award was first given out in 2001 and honors coaches who are role models in their schools and in the community. "I pour a lot of effort into the scholar athletes at this school and it's such an honor to receive this award," Shirey said. Shirey played sports since fourth-grade growing up in Santa Clara. She attended The King's Academy in Sunnyvale in high school playing basketball and softball. Shirey averaged a double-double her senior year in 2010 to 2011. She attended William Jessup University in Rocklin from 2011 to 2015 and played basketball her first two years with the Warriors. Shortly after Shirey joined John Adams Academy, the girls' basketball team won the academic team champion award in 2016 to 2017. The girls' volleyball team has also been back-to-back Northern Pacific Athletic Conference champions, winning the last two seasons including an undefeated 8-0 record in 2021. The girls also won the academic team award with an overall grade point average of 3.90. "I cannot remember a season of basketball or volleyball where I didn't learn something from Coach Bre," senior Kailee Beloberk said. "She taught our teams lessons in humility, loving others, using our voices for good and supporting one another." The Lady Patriots basketball team is currently 14-2 and off to their best start in school history. "A huge thing is the players enjoy being together," Shirey said. "I implement things such as team buddies they check in on during the week and we have words and encouragement circles. The kids' care and love contributes most to our success as a team." Outside of sports, Shirey has also been the service project chaperone since 2016 working with nonprofits such as Feed My Starving Children that packages food and distributes it to developing countries. Shirey works with the athletic director when planning these projects and serves alongside scholars from the school. "We have 10 core values here at John Adams Academy and one is to model what we teach," Shirey said. Shirey also wants to raise funds for the To Write Love On Her Arms nonprofit organization that helps individuals struggling with depression and self-harm while investing in treatment. In the last 20 years, there have been 128 coaches honored with the Model Coach award from 76 schools. The last south Placer area coach to receive the award was Whitney High's Michael Gimenez in 2013-14. "I think Coach Bre stands out the most because she truly has the biggest heart and is the most genuine person I have ever met," senior Desiree Medina said. "I feel like most coaches get so sucked into a sport that they forget who their players are as people. With Coach Bre, it is the complete opposite. Not only is she compassionate about what she does, but on top of this, she is constantly making sure that everyone knows that they are loved for who they are." shirey said she loves being a coach at John Adams Academy and looks forward to the school's future. "I love that the program is very young at the school," Shirey said. "Seven years with sports and we have the opportunity to build a strong program for athletics as we continue to grow."