Jason Hutchens, head baseball coach and physical education teacher for Apache Junction High School, 2525 S. Ironwood in Apache Junction, has been named the school’s athletic director for the 2023-24 school year.

Overseeing the athletic programs of 17 sports within a small school district will have its obstacles, but Hutchens is up to the challenge.

“‘One team’ is what I will be preaching to the coaches,” said Hutchens when asked about his new role. “We are a small school playing above our heads in the 4A conference (the AIA places schools over 1,000 students in 4A and up and schools with less than 1,000 in 3A and down). All of the coaches need to work together to ensure success for the kids and their programs. I am a very firm believer in high school kids being multi-sport athletes. Competing in multiple sports makes students better overall athletes, cuts down on repetitive stress injuries and helps combat burnout."

Hutchens has worked for AJHS for three years but his Apache Junction roots go much deeper. He moved to AJ for the first time when he was 7 years old. He attended Superstition Mountain Elementary from second to sixth grade and was a member of the first class of seventh graders when Apache Junction Junior High opened. He went on to graduate from AJHS in 1988.

“I have coached several places, but the nine years before I came back to AJ I was working and coaching at Campo Verde High School in Gilbert with another AJ alumnus, Max Ragsdale,” said Hutchens.

“He got me excited about teaching and coaching in high school so I went back to school and got my teaching degree. CV was a very nice place to work and the only school that could have pulled me away from there was AJ. When the head baseball job opened I knew I had to apply. I have long felt the need to give back to the community that helped raise me. If it weren’t for the influences of the unbelievably excellent teachers and coaches I had when I was a student here, who knows where I would have ended up? I owe a lot to Coach Cisterna, Coach Combs, Coach Beatty, Coach McMinn, Coach Henry, Coach McVicker, Coach Mitchell and a host of great teachers and coaches in AJUSD back then for helping me mature and teaching me more than just English/math/science/social studies/etc.," he said.

Hutchens has been married for 23 years to a woman he describes as “probably the best lady in the world.” Together they have three boys: Tim, James, and Ryan.

One thing that many folks may be surprised to learn is Coach Hutchens is a big Disney fan. He said he escapes to the Magic Kingdom any chance he can. He even has a plan to someday get a full sleeve tattoo on his left arm with all of the Disney characters.

For now he is happy to create a rewarding experience for students and staff as the new athletic director. He is determined to return to his childhood roots in Apache Junction and grow a thriving program in the process – just like a Disney movie.

AJHS emphasizes a well-rounded education where academics, sports and extracurricular activities allow students to grow scholastically, physically and emotionally. AJHS graduates have access to more scholarships per student than in most communities in the Valley and qualifying students have access to Promise for the Future to earn a tuition-free education at Central Arizona College.

Registration for all new students who wish to enroll in Apache Junction Unified School District schools are currently being accepted at all school locations. For more information about AJUSD or its schools or departments visit ajusd.org.