HIGH-SCHOOL

CA’s DeJarnette earns national award

The Daily Herald
Marty DeJarnette (center), pictured after Columbia Academy's 2019 Class A state championship victory, was honored in Washington, D.C., this week as the National Christian Schools Association's Coach of the Year during the organization's annual conference.

Columbia Academy boys basketball coach Marty DeJarnette was honored as the National Christian School Association’s Coach of the Year during an awards ceremony Thursday at the Museum of the Bible in Washington.

The ceremony was part of the NCSA’s three-day annual conference that took place this week. The NCSA, of which Columbia Academy is a member, represents 98 Christian secondary schools in 26 states across the country.

“I was pretty shocked, actually, because I know how many really good coaches are in just our area,” said DeJarnette, who has compiled a 426-240 career coaching record in 21 seasons and two stints at CA — earning the Basketball Coaches of Tennessee’s 2018 Don Meyer Award as the state’s top coach and leading the Bulldogs to the 2019 Class A state championship, Maury County’s first.

“It’s a nice surprise. It’s a credit to a lot of people, not just me: Our school, the coaches I get to coach with every day, our players, our families for allowing us to do it the way we need to do it. It’s a nice recognition for all of us, really.”

In addition to his CA basketball coaching duties, DeJarnette has served as soccer, softball, volleyball and golf coach at various times, as well as athletics director and interim principal. In 2018, he was named upper school assistant principal, where he oversees discipline and leads “Bulldogs United”, a school-wide bullying prevention program.

“Coach DeJarnette is very deserving of this award because of his lifetime of service to young people,” Columbia Academy president James Thomas said. ““He models humility, hard work, and love for God and family, and he prioritizes these values over athletic success.

“He cares about his players as people, and he invests in them as individuals so he can help them with the things that are important outside of basketball.”