New Head Girl’s Basketball Coach Char Hutson.
A home-grown Hawkster will be taking over the reigns of next year’s Girls Basketball program when Char Hutson was hired as the next Head Coach.
Char has been a behind the scenes coach for basketball~ Softball~Cross Country these past few years.
Char played basketball and softball and graduated in 2018.
The ReSporter: Give us your thoughts on when you put your name in motion and then your thoughts when they said you would be The Coach.
Coach Hutson: “When I first threw my name out there, I had no expectations. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but I also wanted to be prepared for the ‘what if’ so, I started to brainstorm for hours every day during the waiting period about what I would want my own program to look like whether that was this year or further down the road.”
Hutson continued, “When Coach Parker let me know that the position was mine, there were a lot of mixed emotions. I’ve taken a lot of pride in this program as an athlete & now as a coach for the last few years so I was a bit nervous naturally, but I was mostly excited, and then just anxious to get to work with my girls. It’s a huge deal to me considering it’s my first head job, but this is my home, so it means a whole lot more to me than that.”
The ReSporter: You have been an understudy for a few coaches… what have you taken from being their sub-varsity coach?
Coach Hutson: “I’ve been lucky enough to work under 5 head coaches across 3 sports, and really close to a few others during my 3 years at Canyon Lake so I was able to learn a lot in a short amount of time. I’ve been able to see a few things that work that I want to take with me into my own program, but also thankful to have seen a lot of things that I may not want to incorporate in which will be a big help in my opinion. I’m blessed to have been able to learn from so many people, and to continue to learn from the talented coaches around me.”
The ReSporter: Share bout your advantage in already knowing (for the most part) the players that are coming back and what plans you might have in store on offense and defense.
Coach Hutson: “I think that already knowing the girls & a large number of the middle school athletes coming up will be a huge advantage. The most important part of coaching is building relationships with the athletes & I believe I’ve done that fairly well in the position that I was in. It’s going to be an adjustment from being the “fun assistant” to head coach, but the girls seemed to have taken the adjustment really well so far so I’m extremely proud of them. And of course, there will still be fun, that’s just who I am and what the girls will remember most hopefully when they think back on their time here.
Coach Hutson relayed her thoughts on offense/defense, “Offensively, we’ve got a long
Way to Charr & Go Lake!!
way to go before I really hone into those plans. I’m going to try to utilize my girls where they fit best & put them in the best positions to be successful. Defensively, that will be our focus. I’ve told them since our first day together that the only 2 starters I know of are going to be the best defender & the best rebounder. People can question our skill level, but I don’t want them to ever be able to question our effort & that’s what a good defensive team stems from. If we give our all on defense, then offense will come on its own.”
Way to Go Char & Hawks!!
The ReSporter: Do you have plans to work in concert with the Mountain Valley Coaches so there is a unity in philosophy and the players not having to learn a new system when they arrive in High School. Are has that already been implemented?
Coach Hutson: “I will definitely be working with the middle school & eventually want both of us to be aligned with our youth leagues as well. I don’t think that our middle school or youth have been given the attention they deserve or need in order for a program to be built here & the culture to really change. Some of my favorite childhood memories were made playing sports at the CRRC, so I’m extremely excited to get back down there on this side of things and do what I can to support them whatever that may look like. Each level feels separated right now and that’s not how it should be in my opinion or how I want it to be. I’m eager to get our youth involved & comfortable on our campus early so they want to be a part of what we have going on here.
The ReSporter: Are you excited?
Coach Hutson: “I know God has opened this door for me and kept me here for a reason, so of course I’m excited. Go Hawks!”
The ReSporter: Thanks for already saying my closure already but I will add one extra exclamation point. GO HAWKS!!
