By Gary Lloyd
Newly hired Hewitt-Trussville head basketball coach Mike Dutton was the featured speaker at the Trussville Rotary Club’s meeting last week.
Dutton said at the meeting that he enjoys going to work every day and has a passion for coaching. He said he tries to bring in people with knowledge of the sport to assist in teaching athletes as much as possible about the sport.
Dutton was approved by the Trussville City Board of Education as the new varsity boys’ coach on May 6. Dutton, 68, takes over for Zane Arnold, who resigned earlier this year after one season as the Hewitt-Trussville coach. Hewitt-Trussville posted a 15-16 record last season.
Dutton was the head basketball coach at Pinson Valley from 1987-1989, Oneonta from 1989-1991, again at Pinson Valley from 1991-2006, Mortimer Jordan from 2006-2008 and at Hayden from 2009-2012. Most recently, Dutton has been the volunteer assistant varsity boys’ basketball coach at Mortimer Jordan.
The gymnasium at Pinson Valley was named in Dutton’s honor in December 2004. At Pinson Valley, his team won the Jefferson County Basketball Tournament in 2001 and 2002. He was the Jefferson County Coach of the Year in 1989, 2001 and 2002. He was also the North team’s coach in the Alabama High School Athletic Association All Star Basketball Game in 2001.
Dutton, in his 25 years as a head coach, has 360 career wins. He also has coaching experience in track, cross country, soccer, football and tennis. Dutton coached the state runner-up 13-year-old basketball team at Lewis M. Smith Elementary School in 1968-1969. He was the coach of the Banks High School city championship ninth grade football team in 1969 and 1971. As the head basketball coach at Banks in 1972-1973, his teams won more games than the previous seven years.
Dutton was the principal at Banks High School from 1976-1978 and at Mountain Brook Junior High School from 1978-1987. Dutton is a 1963 graduate of Banks High School. He graduated from the University of Montevallo with a bachelor’s degree in social studies and physical education in 1968 and earned his master’s in 1973. He earned his advanced certification in educational administration from Montevallo in 1977.
Hewitt-Trussville boys’ basketball begins Nov. 7.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.