Koutoufas Steps Down at Menchville
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>One of the most respected High School Basketball
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coaches in Virginia has decided to step aside.
Dennis Koutoufas,
a man that has coached 29 seasons at three different schools in the Peninsula
District, turned in his resignation at Menchville
High School in Newport News.
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Koutoufas
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
went 65-35 in four seasons at Menchville to bring his
career coaching record to 438-255. Only
Jack Baker of Maury (695 wins) and Hampton's Walter Brower (571 wins) had more
wins among active coaches in the Tidewater area.
style=> With the Monarchs, he won three
conference/district tournament crowns in four years, never doing so with the #1
seed.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"The last four years were pretty good.
style=> Working with
normal'>Greg Henderson (AD), Bobby
Surry (Principal) and the people at Menchville
was fabulous. And I got to know a bunch
of good kids. Those were all pluses,"
class=SpellE>Koutoufas told VirginiaPreps.com.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"At the present time, the demands are too strong for me
with what I have going on in my life with my family."
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Koutoufas
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>,
63, is the grandfather of triplets. His
daughter and grandchildren reside in South Carolina, making it challenging to
see them during the holidays when the basketball season is in full swing.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"The responsibilities of coaching now are yearlong,"
class=SpellE>Koutoufas explained.
"I want to spend a month in the summer in South Carolina.
style=> Even if I have someone else do it and I'm
coaching, I'm not comfortable with it completely because I feel like I'm supposed
to be there."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>In a combined 25 years at Denbigh and Heritage - - 12
with the Patriots first and 13 then with the Hurricanes - - Koutoufas
went 373-220. He won six Peninsula
District Tournament titles during his career and made the State Tournament four
times.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Winning quickly became the norm for Koutoufas
at Denbigh, where he was 178-108 with three straight Peninsula District regular
season titles from 1986-88. His tenure
there was highlighted by making the State Tournament semifinals in 1987,
eventually falling to Robinson by a count of 55-28.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>At Heritage, Koutoufas guided
the Hurricanes to the Group AAA State Tournament on three occasions.
style=> That included the school's first ever Eastern
Region Tournament appearance in 1999-2000, followed by a stunning upset of
previously 23-0 Salem on their way to making a trip to the State Playoffs.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Working his magic yet again at Menchville
would be no easy task given that he inherited a program that went 26-43 over
the three seasons prior to his arrival.
But the outgoing senior class experienced only one losing season and
made regionals three times, going 18-7 this past season with Green Run knocking
them out, 50-43 in the 5A-South Region Tournament quarterfinals.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>How does Koutoufas reflect
back on one of the more success basketball coaching career that Hampton Roads
has seen the past quarter-century? With
the grace and class that made him looked up to by so many of his peers.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"When I got started, if you told me that I would've had
four wins I would've been happy. I ended
up with over 400," said Koutoufas.
style=> "I've never been one with gargantuan
expectations, but we've done well. I
think I've averaged over 15 wins per year, and more than anything, have been
able to do something I enjoy. Being able
to associate with some of the people I've gotten to be around over the years in
basketball has made it real fun."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
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