42nd Hall of Fame Induction - Graber Associates

JAY HUTCHINS ‘84SoccerAs far as Glenn Hutchins, soccer andbaseball coach at Greely High School intiny Cumberland, Maine was concerned,adulthood and the workaday world wouldarrive soon enough for his sons Kyle andJay. Sports and games came first. So hefashioned a small athletic complex rightat the family home – a basketball courtout in the back, and a soccer/ baseballfield on the expansive front lawn.2010 INDUCTEETall for a soccer player at 6-2, Hutchinshad a quick first step, and his accelerationthrough the first five yards madehim difficult to stop. He could also scoreequally well with either leg. He is proudthat he was able to fit his offensiveemphasis into Brewster’s style of playand to amass a high goal and point totalwhile playing for a defensive-mindedteam.“I didn’t want them to have jobs duringthe summer. They’re going to be workingall of their lives,” stated Mr. Hutchins.“What they did in sports, they did ontheir own. It wasn’t through going tocamps. They paid the price, and itworked out for them. They made melook really good as a coach.”Kyle, four years older, recalls that at almostevery time of the day or night, he and Jaywould be engaged in some sporting activityin or around the yard. They’d practice techniquesand moves picked up from watchinga German soccer league on television onenight a week. They worked on warm-updrills observed at the Boston Tea Men’shome games at Boston University. TheHutchins lads were sporting autodidacts,and turned out to be brilliant students andteachers.Kyle played at Providence and SouthernMaine before three years in pro soccer withthe Dallas Tornado. Jay played point guardon the Greely basketball team, twice makingall-state and receiving offers to playboth basketball and soccer from Maine andBrown. When he got to BC, assistant basketballcoach Kevin Mackey pursued himand asked him several times to try out.“I know Jay’s my brother, but he was thebest high school player I’ve ever seen. Hewas so powerful and so dominant, it wasalmost embarrassing to watch him,” saidKyle. “In high school he was an offensiveforce, but once he got to college he wasmuch more well-rounded. Fortunately hehad a good coach in Ben Brewster.”The Hutchins family had gotten to knowBen when Jay was a high school freshman.The Eagles spent a pre-season week inCumberland, staying in soccer players’homes, practicing, and working out withthe high school kids. BC was always Jay’sfirst choice of college.The Hutchins TeamWhen admission time arrived, though, ittook a while for BC’s scholarship offer tocome through. Jay kept badgering Brewsterand eventually accepted a deal from BostonUniversity. He changed his mind when Bencame up with the funds, and wound upscoring three of his 21 career goals againstthe Terriers, including a particularly satisfyinggame winner.Seven of Jay’s 20 goals were game-winningscores. He was also a three-time All-NewEngland choice and three-time All-GreaterBoston League selection. He was also theGBL’s MVP in 1981.Brewster’s Eagle teams of Jay’s years compileda record of 53-19-24. They were overachievers,a bunch of junkyard dogs whopreferred to stifle and smother opponentsand rely on the goaltending of Hall of FamerGordie Farkouh. Hutchins didn’t fit themold; though tall and strong, he was skilledand graceful, a playmaker and scorer in therole of attacking midfielder. Even thoughthe team preferred defense, Jay still rankssixth all-time with 81 points scored andfourth in career assists, more than 25 yearsafter his graduation.“They used to say we were tough. I thinkwe were mentally tough. I never thoughtwe were dirty. Ben put together a team thatwas unbelievable from the chemistry standpoint.Everybody had each other’s back.You have good chemistry and a good goalie,and you can do a lot of things. I can’tremember ever having any fights on theteam. Everyone got so ticked off at Ben, buthis philosophy was for us to get mad at him,not at each other.”19Hutchins and classmate Peter Dorfmancarried the bulk of the offensive burden.Jay was the playmaker and Peter, with31 career goals to Jay’s 21, was the scorer.They are tied for fourth all-time inEagle annals with 20 assists.“Peter was tough up front. I could playit in to him, and he was very hard to knockoff the ball,” said Jay.For Hutchins and classmates, the definingmoment of their BC careers came in sophomoreyear. After an 0-2 start, they journeyedto Long Island and knocked off bothUCLA 2-1 and host Adelphi 3-2 in theAdidas Tournament. They finished 14-6-1that season and followed it up with a 15-5-3 mark and a berth in the NCAAs the followingyear.“I had great people behind me, “he stated.“Steve Byrne and John Callahan weretremendous defensive players. We hadGordie Farkouh in goal. So I could afford toattack more, and could come forward morethan some midfielders.”Jay was also named All-Big East twice. Heworked at WEEI in Boston for a while, tryingto break into the broadcasting game,assisting BC basketball broadcaster TedSarandis. He also interned at WGME inPortland, Maine.After a year with the Charlotte Gold in professionalsoccer, Jay returned to Maine,where several executives of UnumInsurance happened to be soccer fans andfollowers of his career. He received an invitationto join the sales team and moved toChicago for a seven-year hitch. There hemet his future wife, Rowena Anderson.Jay is now vice president of sales atColonial Life Insurance, a sister company toUnum. The family lives in Atlanta. SonsT.J., age 17, and Chase, 15, play varsity basketballin high school. Daughter Sarah, 23,is a banker and daughter Jeannette, 20, is atthe University of Georgia.