Georgian’s new women's basketball coach looks forward to ‘fresh start’

Brian Hutton sees downtime as a positive to build the culture he wants around the team

BarrieToday Staff

Brian Hutton is the new coach of the Georgian Grizzlies women’s basketball team. 
Photo provided by Georgian College

NEWS RELEASE
GEORGIAN GRIZZLIES
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The Georgian College athletic department is thrilled to introduce Brian Hutton as the new Grizzlies women's basketball head coach.

Hutton brings a wealth of basketball experience in coaching and player development to Georgian. He has post-secondary experience in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) and with both U of T Mississauga and Algonquin College in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA).

In addition, Hutton was a very successful high school coach at the 'AAAA' level in Alberta, building two programs from the ground up into perennial championship contenders.

"I love the idea of building, of a fresh start, fresh page," said Hutton, "and of building the culture I want, one that athletes want to be a part of.

"I am super excited and can't wait to get started."

Joining the Grizzlies at this time may seem an overwhelming challenge to some, since the women's basketball program is on hiatus for the 2021-22 season, and won't be competing in OCAA league play that is slated to start this week. But Hutton does not see this as a negative at all.

"I view this as a huge positive," Hutton said, "because we'll never have this much downtime before a season again. It's an opportunity to lay the foundation of our program and to start developing our athletes.

"It's my hope that, come October, our hard work and development will show when we take the court and can be competitive right away within the OCAA."

Georgian College's manager of athletics, David Laliberte, is excited about what the future will bring for Grizzlies women's basketball with Hutton at the helm.

"We are very excited to welcome Brian to our women's varsity basketball program," said Laliberte. "His commitment to building a strong culture and focusing on the development of his players to be successful not only on the court – but in life beyond it – is key to re-establishing women's basketball here at Georgian.

"I look forward to Brian being part of Georgian's commitment to excellence in sports for years to come."

If you are interested in playing any of Georgian's seven varsity sports teams in the future, we encourage you to fill out the future student-athlete form at GeorgianGrizzlies.ca/FutureGrizzlies