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What does four decades in the athletic director's chair actually teach you? In this episode of Talkin' with the AD, Morgan sits down with Marc "Hutch" Hunter, CMAA — 41 years in athletic administration, 30 of them as the building AD at Jordan High School — for a master class in certification, the fading three-sport athlete, and building a career in education-based athletics that lasts. If you're a new AD, a veteran, or a coach thinking about the seat, this one's a keeper.

Hutch has watched the job grow from an extra duty handed to an assistant coach into the demanding, run-everything role it is today — and he's been honored for it, with a wall of hall-of-fame inductions and Athletic Director of the Year recognition from five different organizations.

We get into the things that actually keep ADs in the chair. Why certification isn't just another hoop. The legal courses that will change how you run your department — recommend it, then document it. And the CMAA project that put his Jordan High teams to work serving their community. Then we hit a topic close to both of us: the decline of the three-sport athlete, the real cost of early specialization, and how to reach parents with a little clarity before confusion turns into conflict.

Hutch also hands over a few pages from his own playbook: get plugged into your state and national associations, get certified, and make three people your very best friends — the head secretary, the head cafeteria manager, and the head custodian. Trust him on that one.

Oh — and he's a novelist, too. We talk his Pinkerton Todd mystery series and the UIAAA Connection podcast, closing in on 300 episodes.

RESOURCES & MENTIONS

• Hutch's novels — Plateau, Hoodoo, and Castlegate (the Pinkerton Todd series), with a fourth on the way. On Amazon under author Marc R. Hunter.
• The UIAAA Connection podcast — Hutch's show for the athletic administration community, approaching its 300th episode.
• "Diggers in the Community" — the team service-project program at Jordan High that became his CMAA project.
• NIAAA certification (CAA and CMAA) and the Leadership Training Institute courses — including the legal courses Hutch and Morgan both credit for changing how they run their departments.
• Leadership with Legacy — an athletic-leadership book Hutch contributed a chapter to.

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Talkin' with the AD is a podcast for athletic directors, school leaders, coaches, parents, and athletes — built around education-based athletics and the people who make it work. Hosted by Morgan J. Sullivan — athletic director, coach, and author of Coach on Leadership.

LEAD · TEACH · GROW

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Better Youth Coaching
Mission is to improve amateur sports through education of parents, coaches, and athletes

Better Youth Coaching
Mission is to improve amateur sports through education of parents, coaches, and athletes

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