Brian Shaffer has made his mark in wrestling in Northern Virginia. In high school, he wrestled at Woodbridge in Prince William County under Hall of Fame Coach Richard Hilleary. His crowning achievement was a dominating performance as AAA Virginia State Champion at 132 lbs. in 1986. In the Olympic wrestling styles, he added two Virginia freestyle championships and another in Greco.

After high school, he accepted the challenge of wrestling at the University of Pittsburgh for PA Hall of Famer, the late Rande Stottlemeyer. Graduating in 1990 with a BS in Psychology, Brian returned to his home region, coaching wrestling at George Mason University under Hall of Famer Mike Moyer, while earning a master’s degree in education. In 1992, Brian accepted a position as American University’s Head Wrestling Coach, becoming the youngest Division I head coach in the country at the time. In 1995, he came back to George Mason as head coach, advancing as well to professor at the University.     

Brian’s 13 years at GMU were full of successes. He amassed 100 NCAA dual meet victories, had 35 NCAA qualifiers, and won 3 CAA Conference Team Titles (’96, ’97, ’01). He was twice named the Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year (’96, ’01). In 2008, he was inducted into Woodbridge High School’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

In 2010, Brian returned to high-school wrestling in Prince William County. As head coach of the program at Battlefield HS, he has won eight conference titles, four regional titles, and the 2018 Virginia 6A state title. He has been District Coach of the Year eight times, 2017 Washington Post All-Met Coach of the Year, and the 2018 NWCA Virginia Coach of the Year.

Coach Shaffer is currently a special education teacher at Battlefield, living in Haymarket,