Photo by Jimmy Mitchell.
Buddy Anderson has served as the head coach of the Vestavia Hills High School football program since 1978. In that time, the Rebels have earned 342 wins, winning state championships in 1980 and 1998.
There will be one more season in the illustrious coaching career of Buddy Anderson.
The longtime and legendary Vestavia Hills High School football coach will hang up his whistle following the 2020 season, his 43rd as the head coach of the Rebels. Anderson delivered the news to his team June 8 and confirmed the news to the Vestavia Voice later that day.
“It was very emotional,” Anderson said of the meeting with his team. “It was emotional talking to my coaches first thing this morning and talking to my team. I knew that day was going to come one day.”
With the COVID-19 pandemic cancelling spring practice and altering everyone’s way of life, June 8 was the first time the Rebels were together in several months. Anderson is hopeful that the fall season will go ahead as planned. If it does, the Rebels will have their work cut out for them.
Class 7A, Region 3 is always one of the toughest regions in the state, with the likes of Hoover, Thompson, Hewitt-Trussville and others. Vestavia Hills’ schedule won’t let up out of region this season either, with games against Mountain Brook, Homewood and Shades Valley on the docket.
“We are going to have our hands full every week,” Anderson said.
Anderson’s teams have posted a 342-154 overall record in a head coaching career that began in 1978. He was hired as an assistant coach at Vestavia in 1972 before being elevated to head coach in 1978.
“It’s something that’s taken a lot of soul-searching and prayer, and searching for what God has planned for me the rest of my life,” he said. “I’m not sure of everything but I know he has a plan and a purpose. I’m at peace that this is going to be the last year.”
His 342 wins is the most in Alabama high school history. During his tenure, the Rebels have advanced to the state playoffs 31 times and won state championships in 1980 and 1998.
Anderson plans on adding several more wins to that number this fall, but is adamant that the focus of the Vestavia Hills season should be on his players and their performance, and not on him.
“It’s not going to be any different from any other year,” he said. “It just happens to be the last one. But it’s about them and that’s who it’s going to be about. It doesn’t need to be about me because they deserve it to be about them.”
In 2018, Anderson was inducted into the National Federation of State High School Association (NFHS) Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Alabama High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame and has received countless other awards along the way.
“God called me to be a coach January 12, 1968,” he said. “He still has a plan for my life after coaching. I know that he’s in charge.”
Last fall, the Rebels posted a 7-4 record, advancing to the 7A playoffs.
