For twenty-five years, Brian Adkins has been a prominent member of the high school coaching community. During that time period, he has earned the respect of the players, opposing coaches and the officials. Despite his numerous accolades, Brian has remained humble, energetic, and respectful. Furthermore, he has served as a role model for thousands of students and athletes.
While attending Branford High School, a 1990 graduate, Brian was an honor roll student and earned varsity letters in multiple sports. In the fall, he ran cross country for coaches Jake Palluzzi and Rich Biondi. As a senior, he was selected by his peers to be the captain. During the winter months, Brian swam for coach John O’Connor.
After high school, Brian attended Marist College. While attending Marist, Adkins lettered in lacrosse. He graduated with a B.A in Mathematics in the spring of 1994. Two years later, he earned his Master in Education from Quinnipiac University.
In 1995, Brian began his illustrious coaching career as an assistant lacrosse coach at St. Joseph High School. The following spring he was appointed head coach at West Haven High School. For three seasons he guided the Blue Devils program.
In 1999, Adkins returned to his alma mater as the inaugural coach of the boys lacrosse team. Emphasizing the fundamentals of the game, sacrifice, and teamwork, the players and program improved at an accelerated pace.
A.J Alessi, a former player and the current head coach at Notre Dame in West Haven stated, “Outside of my immediate family, Brian has been my greatest mentor. He was the ideal coach to build a winning culture at Branford. His players wanted to play hard and succeed for Brian. On many occasions, we were able to grind out victories over more talented teams under Brian’s leadership.”
Under the tutelage of Adkins, the Hornets were able to win the Southern Connecticut Conference Division 2 regular season and tournament championships. The pinnacle of Brian’s career occurred on a scorching hot day at Hamden High School in June of 2003. The Hornets competed against arch rival Amity High School. The Spartans dominated early in the contest and seemed to be in control of the game.
Alessi reflected, “that championship game perfectly summed up coach Adkins. Despite trailing, the players continued to work, refused to quit and believed that we could prevail. We were able to tie the game late and won the championship in triple overtime. That was the culture that Brian built.”
Brian was appointed the first head coach for the Foran High School program in 2012. During his tenure as head coach, the Lions have captured two SCC Division 2 championships and a SCC Division 3 title. Brian’s list of accomplishments is lengthy and impressive. In 2003 and 2005, he was named New Haven Register Coach of the Year and in 2007, Brian was named Connecticut High School Coaches Association-Coach of the
Year. He has also been named coach of the year seven additional times from various organizations.
Rounding out his illustrious coaching career resume Brian served as the head girls soccer coach at Bunnell High School from 1998 to 2005. Lastly, Adkins coached girls basketball at Guilford High School under Jim Rooney for four seasons.
Professionally, Brian has been an educator at Bunnell High School in Stratford since 1996. In 2000, he married his wife Janene. The couple have children named Kaitlyn, Christopher, Elizabeth, and Matthew and the family resides in Milford.
