On Thursday, Old Rochester Regional graduate and Mattapoisett native Michael Burnett became the latest to receive the Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year.

According to a press release from the Redskins, "The award was created to honor exemplary high school football coaches who demonstrate a commitment to player health and safety, and the integrity, achievement and leadership exemplified by the winningest coach in NFL history, Don Shula."

The Redskins nominated Burnett, who has made a name for himself in Loudoun County, Virginia, first by taking the floundering Broad Run High School to two state championships and then by heading the Huskies at Tuscarora High School. Burnett was the first coach at the school when it opened in 2010 as well as the head of the social studies department.

"We had to start with no senior class. That was hard. We were pretty much out manned for the first couple of years," said Burnett.

But they quickly turned it around, giving Burnett a six-season record of 60-15. The Huskies won the Virginia 5A North region title in 2014 and made another trip to regionals last fall.

Part of his success is a commitment to safety, as the Coach of the Year award suggests.

"We don’t practice with full pads like we did in the old days. It’s a lot more based on technique and intellect," said Burnett. "It translates very well when we put the pads on Friday night. It keeps a lot of our kids safe."

He also concentrates on the whole player, not just the game.

"Most of the focus is on not on football but on relationships. We kind of preach core values of passion, discipline, commitment. That transfers well onto the football field," said the coach. "The winning is more of a byproduct of having great committed kids who are wiling to do anything for each other."

Burnett was always drawn to the camaraderie of sports. A member of the ORR class of 1985, he was an accomplished tri-sport athlete and learned firsthand how to be a team player.

"Boys can come together and work together and really kind of grow up together," he said. "The best friends I have in my life are guys I either played with or coached with."

When Burnett graduated in 1985, he did so with lifelong friends and with numerous MVP titles and letters in football, basketball and track. Those achievements lead to his induction into the ORR Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.

After high school, Burnett played varsity football and basketball at Bowdoin College and went on to study law degree at Suffolk University and the University of Washington in Seattle. He spent two years as an attorney in New Bedford before turning to teaching and coaching, which he said was "following my heart."

"My whole life I felt like I really love working with kids, and I didn’t realize I could make a living at it," Burnett said. "The minute I did it, I knew it was the right thing."

He began teaching and coaching basketball 20 years ago in Martinsville, Virginia where he met his wife, Kim. The two moved to California for seven years where Burnett continued to pursue his teaching and coaching careers. He served as head coach at Santa Monica High School in California before returning to Virginia to be closer to his wife's family and to New England.

The father of two boys, Jack, 13, and Sam, 10, Burnett said he and his family are still in shock about his NFL award.

With the Coach of the Year honor comes a $10,000 award for the coach and $15,000 to the school's football program from the NFL Foundation. He and his wife also get a trip to the Super Bowl and will walk the red carpet at the 5^th Annual NFL Honor, a primetime special that will air Saturday, Feb. 6, the night before the big game.

Burnett said he sees this honor as a way to represent all of those who commit countless hours to their players.

"There’s thousands of terrific high school coaches out there who change lives for kids," said Burnett. He added, "There’s been a lot of negative attention on football recently. I’m really proud of the game and all the great young men it’s helped build over the years."