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It’s official: Alvirne hires Hufft

Alvirne High School didn’t get just an athletic director when it hired Justin Hufft to fill that position last month. The Broncos got a football coach as well.

Hufft, who is currently the athletic director at Pelham High School, was approved by the Hudson School Board as Alvirne’s varsity football coach Monday night.

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Hufft, 48, resigned as Goffstown’s head coach in 2020, but returned to coaching at Pelham last season when John Trisciani left that coaching position late in the preseason. Hufft guided Pelham to the Division II championship game, where Souhegan beat Pelham 14-11 to win the title.

“Ended up coaching this past fall at Pelham — was surprised by that, but really enjoyed the experience,” Hufft said. “Kind of got reinvigorated and rediscovered a lot of the stuff that I missed about coaching, that I always loved about coaching. I really had a great time with it.

“My health is in a better position right now (Type-I diabetes). A big part of the reason I stepped down (at Goffstown) was to try and manage my diabetes. This past fall I was able to handle that coaching and doing the AD job. The diabetes wasn’t an issue and that was the big hurdle and the reason I stepped down before.”

Hufft replaces Matt Lee, who resigned as Alvirne’s coach after the 2024 season to become the head coach at Windham High School. Hufft will begin his job as athletic director at Alvirne on July 1, and said he plans to meet with the Alvirne players on Thurday night.

“It’s during the week, after hours so all of my Pelham stuff will be done,” he said. “I’ll just stop at Alvirne on my way back home.”

Although many schools don’t allow its athletic director to also be a head coach, Hufft said there are benefits to having a coach also serve as the school’s AD.

“I think the schools that do allow it have some of the best athletic departments,” Hufft said. “I think it makes a lot of sense. As an AD in a sense you’re kind of coaching coaches a lot and there’s no better way to stay in touch with what it’s like to be a coach at that school with those kids. If you’re a coach and you’re interacting with an AD who’s also a coach there’s a little bit more of a connection there. So I think it makes a lot of sense on a lot of fronts.”

Hufft, who resides in Merrimack, guided Goffstown to seven playoff appearances — two in Division III and five in Division I — during his nine seasons as the program’s head coach. The Grizzlies won the Division I title in 2015. He also served as Goffstown’s AD for his final three seasons as the school’s football coach.

He spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach at Souhegan High School, his alma mater, and two years as an assistant at Saint Anselm College before he was hired as Goffstown’s head coach. He became Goffstown’s athletic director in the summer of 2018.

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