Michalke named new high school cross-country coach

At the Trussville City Schools December Board meeting, Matthew Michalke was approved as the new varsity cross-country head coach. Michalke will begin this new role in fall 2021.

“I’m honored to be able to build on the foundation and tradition that David and Anita Dobbs have established in the cross-country and track and field programs at Hewitt-Trussville. I look forward to working with our outstanding student athletes and Coach Esslinger to establish Hewitt-Trussville as a premiere program for distance running.”

Michalke has been teaching and coaching at Hewitt-Trussville Middle School since the fall of 2010, where he has been serving as head coach for cross-country and track and field. Over the past 11 years, Michalke has coached over 800 student-athletes.

During his tenure at HTMS, the boys cross-country team won the Metro South Championship in 2016 and had top three finishes in 2015, 2017 and 2018. The girls cross-country team had a top three finish in 2018. The boys indoor track and field team earned top three finishes at the Middle School State Championships in 2017 and 2020. Michalke was also named the Metro South Cross Country coach of the year in 2016.

Trussville City School Athletics Director Lance Walker said, “I am excited for Coach Michalke to begin this new role with us. He has done an outstanding job for over a decade leading our middle school program. He has certainly earned this opportunity. He deserves a lot of credit for getting students involved in cross-country and track and field. His work in that area has helped our varsity program tremendously over the years. I am excited to work with him as we build on the rich tradition of Hewitt-Trussville cross-country.”

Hewitt-Trussville head varsity track and field coach Tom Esslinger said, “Matthew Michalke is everything I could ever hope for in a coach to lead the distance runners in our program, and I can’t wait to work with him. Matthew’s strength of character, dedication, enthusiasm and attention to detail are just a few of the outstanding qualities that make him an extraordinary coach. Our coaching styles and training philosophies are the same, and I am confident we can help student-athletes reach their full potential in athletics and other areas of life. Coach Dobbs built this program to what it is today, and Matthew and I both are committed to doing everything we possibly can to keep that momentum going in the track and field and cross-country program.”

Coach David Dobbs recently retired as head cross-country and track and field coach. Dobbs added, “I am very excited that Matthew Michalke has been chosen to take the helm of the Hewitt-Trussville High School cross-country teams. He has done a phenomenal job as head coach at Hewitt-Trussville Middle School and has developed that program into a metro powerhouse. He will bring the energy and enthusiasm he has now to thehigh school teams.”

Michalke graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and from Southwestern Baptist with a Master’s degree in Christian Education. He and his wife, Emily, have four children and reside in Trussville.

Submitted by Trussville City Schools.