Bree Rode is a coach, strength and conditioning specialist, mentor, mother, and founder of BrioForm and Student Athlete Headquarters.
— 01 Where it started
As the oldest of seven siblings, leadership, responsibility, and resilience became part of her identity early in life. Her first coach was her mother — a relationship that helped shape her passion for mentorship, discipline, athlete development, and the importance of strong support systems.
Now as a mother herself, Bree understands the athlete journey from an entirely different perspective. Raising a daughter who also competes at a high level in basketball has deepened her passion for helping athletes and families navigate the pressure, expectations, confidence, identity, and emotional demands that come with competitive sports today.
— 02 The playing journey
A two-time New Mexico Gatorade Player of the Year, Bree's basketball journey started early. As an eighth grader, she became one of the first players in her area to compete at the varsity level — an experience that exposed her to high expectations, pressure, leadership, and the responsibility that comes with competing beyond your years.
The relationships she built with her high school coaches during that time remain some of the most impactful in her life, and she remains very close with them to this day. Those experiences deeply shaped her belief in the lasting influence coaches can have on an athlete far beyond wins, losses, or performance.
After earning a scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley, Bree later continued her career at the junior college level in the nationally competitive Jayhawk Conference in Kansas before finishing at San Francisco State, where she earned her degree in International Business.
Navigating multiple levels of college basketball gave her firsthand experience with the pressure, identity shifts, adversity, and uncertainty athletes face throughout their careers — especially during an era when transferring schools was far more difficult and support systems looked very different than they do today.
— The Belief
"That journey shaped her ability to connect with athletes from every background and level of competition. Whether chasing Division 1 dreams, rebuilding confidence, navigating setbacks, or finding their place within the game — Bree understands the mental, emotional, and physical demands that come with the process."
— 03 Coaching across levels
Beyond her playing experience, Bree has coached all levels of boys basketball, served as the head coach of a girls basketball program, and worked extensively at the developmental youth, high school, and collegiate levels for more than a decade. Her experience across both the boys and girls game has given her a unique perspective on leadership, culture-building, athlete development, and the evolving challenges athletes face today.
She has also worked within elite sports environments, including interning with the Golden State Warriors organization, where she gained valuable insight into high-performance culture, leadership, preparation, and professional marketing strategies.
— 04 Building something bigger
In 2011, she founded Student Athlete Headquarters with the mission of creating a space where athletes could develop confidence, structure, leadership, discipline, and long-term support both on and off the court and field.
Her work combines strength training, mindset development, leadership, accountability, and real-life structure to help athletes become stronger mentally and physically. Beyond coaching performance, Bree is passionate about helping people navigate pressure, adversity, confidence, identity, burnout, and growth in a healthier way.
Through BrioForm, she is building a community centered around standards, connection, growth, and long-term impact.