Occupation: Dean of Students, teacher, and girls’ basketball coach at Parkview Baptist School
Wife: Michelle
Children: Kyleigh, 17; Brie, 14; and Steele, 10
Hobbies: Watching sports, going to the gym, and Ubering the kids around

Brett Shelton’s life is a blend of family, faith, and dedication to guiding future generations. With the support of his wife, who he acknowledges as a major influence in his life, he successfully balances his career with raising his three children. However, despite his busy schedule, Brett embodies the role of husband, father, teacher, coach, and mentor with grace and humility.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BECOME AN EDUCATOR AND A COACH, AND HOW DID YOU CHOOSE PARKVIEW
BAPTIST SCHOOL?
BRETT: I originally became a coach after college. I love sports, and I wanted to be a part of sports. I used to say, if you can’t play sports anymore, coaching is the next best thing. I started coaching at False River Academy in 2003 and I coached everything I could. I enjoyed working with the young people and helping them to improve, and I enjoyed the competition. [While coaching] at Ascension Christian, one of my former basketball players was an assistant coach at Parkview, and she let me know their head coach was no longer going to take that role. She told me I should apply for it. I thought it would be cool to work with a former player and come over here and coach at a high school that had won state championships and was kind of known for its athletics. I thought it was a good challenge, and then I’d have her here with me as well. Now, she left me the next year, but I was blessed to have a great replacement for her, but that’s how I got to Parkview.

CAN YOU SHARE A MEMORABLE MOMENT FROM YOUR COACHING CAREER THAT HAD AN IMPACT ON YOU?
BRETT: Every year is different. Two years ago, when we won the first state championship, that was a huge year, because we were underdogs. We won seven games the year before, and then we won a state championship. We didn’t have any superstars on the team; we just had a team that played really well together. I think what stuck out to me the most was that they were so selfless. They shared the basketball and they did whatever it took to win. We had goal sheets, and I think one of the eighth graders put [winning the championship] down as her goal, but I didn’t think it was a realistic expectation at the beginning of the year. They just continued to grow though and improve and get better. It was cool coming from an underdog position.

WHAT LESSONS DO YOU HOPE YOUR PLAYERS CARRY WITH THEM LONG AFTER THEY LEAVE THE TEAM?
BRETT: Relationships with other people. I think that sports are kind of a microcosm of what life is about, working together with people to achieve a common goal. So I think the relationship they have with their teammates, the experience they have, the journey putting in the work, and then being able to see what they get at the end from all the work that they put in, I think [is] probably what I’d like them to see.

WHAT’S THE MOST REWARDING PART OF BEING A DAD?
BRETT: Seeing them accomplish something and have success is probably the most rewarding part, especially something that they struggle in, whether it be school, a class, or a sport.

WHAT HAS PARENTING TAUGHT YOU ABOUT YOURSELF?
BRETT: It has taught me patience. It has taught me that it’s not always easy. There’s no one way to parent. It has taught me that every kid is different, and I don’t know how you can raise three kids the exact same way and the behavior be completely different. It has taught me that my parents had no idea what they were doing when they were growing up, and I didn’t know that when I was growing up. I thought they had it together. I’m sure all the kids think we all have it together too, but we learn. We learn daily. I would say it also taught me that I need some help. You know, I need a good partner in it to parent these kids and not go crazy.

HOW HAS BEING A FATHER INFLUENCED THE WAY YOU COACH?
BRETT: You can’t coach girls the same as boys, and I don’t know that I would know that if I didn’t have daughters. Girls are very sensitive, and so I try to take that into consideration. They’re also very selfless. I coach boys as well, and boys kind of do their own thing, but girls are better teammates. They’re not so much about individual accomplishments and things like that. They really are more team players. So, having coached both, I stuck with girls’ basketball because of that.

CAN YOU DESCRIBE A TYPICAL FAMILY DAY FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY?
BRETT: It’s hard to have a family day to be honest with you. I’ve got my oldest daughter who plays soccer—high school soccer and club soccer—and she plays high school basketball. The middle child does dance three nights a week, and then the youngest plays every sport that he can. So it’s not a whole lot of family days, My wife loves to plan vacations where we can get away and be together. We try not to have a whole lot of distractions with phones and things like that. But on a normal family day, I don’t want to take credit for having these great family days. My wife plans them all out. She expects them to go a certain way, and they usually don’t go quite as expected. We’ve done LSU games together. We used to go hiking a lot, especially during COVID, and things like that. If we can get a dinner together at night, to me, that’s success.

WHAT TRADITIONS ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY?
BRETT: My wife intentionally creates these traditions, whether we like them or not. She’s amazing, and that’s why I said you have to have a good partner. We go and look at Christmas lights, and we all complain about it until we go. [Also,] things with family. We travel every year to visit her family. She grew up military, moving around a lot, so it’s definitely important to her. She organizes it; we just show up, so I’m not going to take any credit for that.

IF YOU COULD GIVE ONE PIECE OF ADVICE TO OTHER DADS, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
BRETT: Find a good partner, because it really takes at least two. You’re going to have days where you fail and you’ve got to learn from your mistakes, just like the kids do. [Also,] allow your kids the freedom to make some mistakes, because they’re going to learn more from that than not being allowed to do certain things. So, find a good partner and learn from your own failures.

HOW DO YOU STAY MOTIVATED AND POSITIVE DURING CHALLENGING TIMES?
BRETT: I think just being competitive makes you motivated. I look at these challenges and end up saying, How big of a deal is this really? Am I going to remember this a few years from now? Is this going to affect me next year, two years from now, and then? If it’s not, then why am I so anxious or so worried about it, right? I try to keep positive with that. Scripture as well, knowing that I’m not going through anything that somebody else hasn’t gone through already and has come out better.

WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR YOUR CHILDREN AS THEY GROW UP?
BRETT: I hope that they stay in Christ; I hope they would not part from that. I hope they have families, and that they’re successful. I think those are the three main things. I want them to experience family. I want them to experience success in their professional careers, and for them to keep their families in church as well.

RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS
Favorite local spot for family day…
We go eat at a Japanese restaurant… well the girls eat there. The boy doesn’t like the food as much.

One word that best describes your family…
Busy.

Favorite TV show and movie to watch…
Ted Lasso and This is 40.

Favorite food…
Any type of barbecue.

Hidden talent…
Playing the guitar.