By Joshua Huff, sports editor
TRUSSVILLE — A stalwart within the Hewitt-Trussville High School athletics community announced his retirement from the varsity track and field team on Thursday night, ending a 30-year career within the track program.
David Dobbs, a state championship-winning coach, stepped down as head coach of the track and field team; however, the figurehead will stay with the program as an assistant coach and will remain as the head coach of the cross country program at Hewitt-Trussville.
“It has been my privilege to coach for the past 30 years at Hewitt-Trussville High School,” Dobbs said in a statement. “I would not trade these memories for anything. There is no better place to teach and coach than in the Trussville City Schools system. It is time to turn the program over to someone we know who will be able to carry on the legacy that Anita and I have built here. We have always taught that the program is bigger than wins and losses and have worked to ensure that our athletes developed character, through competition, to become outstanding ladies and gentlemen. We will always bleed red and gray and will continue to be a part of this program as we support it in the future. Go Huskies!”
Dobbs began his teaching career within the Trussville school system as a physical education teacher at Hewitt-Trussville Middle School in 1990 before becoming the science teacher at the middle, junior high and high school.
As a coach, Dobbs guided his girls’ indoor and outdoors track teams to a 1999 state championship. During his tenure with the track team, Dobbs propelled the program to five sectional titles and 12 sectional second-place finishes. Dobbs was recently named as the 2019 all-star coach of the north girls cross country team.
Under his tutelage, more than 80 Hewitt-Trussville athletes signed college scholarships.
“Coach Dobbs represents everything that is right about high school athletics,” Trussvillle City Schools’ Athletics Director Lance Walker said. “He built our track and field program from the ground up and has devoted his professional career to making our program one of the most respected in the state. His coaching accomplishments are impressive, but I am most thankful for the impact he has had on the kids in our community over the past few decades. I regularly hear from his former athletes and they share all the positive ways in which Coach impacted their lives. I am excited about Coach Dobbs continuing with us as a Track and Field Assistant and Head Cross Country coach.”