Former UVU, MHS Wrestler Named Head Coach at ALA

Chase Trussell, a Morgan High and Utah Valley University graduate and former wrestler, has been named the head wrestling coach at American Leadership Academy (ALA) in Spanish Fork. Trussell was featured in The Morgan County News a few months ago at the completion of his UVU wrestling career. ALA is a charter school that competes in the 2A classification.

As a three-time state champion at Morgan and wrestler in the highly competitive Big 12 Conference at UVU, Trussell brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to his new position. Upon graduation from UVU, Trussell planned to work for the DEA and knew he would have some wait time before the hiring process could be completed. When the former head coach, Ben Anderson, at ALA left to head up the Pleasant Grove wrestling program, he reached out to Trussell, and the rest is history.

“When the idea of coaching at ALA came up, I found it intriguing. I never thought I’d be a coach, but I applied and here I am,” Trussell explained.

“I will coach and teach weights,” he detailed. “I am Mr. Sisson!” he wryly noted, referring to the popular Morgan High coach, teacher and strength and conditioning coach.

Trussell notes that he is excited about the position and very happy to have such great mentors as his high school coach Dustin Rock and UVU coach Greg Williams, who retired at the end of the 2024 season. “I’ve had great coaches. They’ve taught me so much.”

Rock shared in an interview. “I think Chase will do great!  Watching him grow up over the last few years and being a part of a college program is going to serve him greatly. I’m excited to see how he does.”

Trussell’s ALA Eagles won’t be competing directly against Morgan in state competition as the Eagles are 2A, but his wrestlers will come up against Trojans at tournaments around the state. 

“I’m most excited to share with my athletes what wrestling has taught me. It has taught me so many values. I was to pass along this to my wrestlers and help as much as I was helped by my coaches. I feel like it will be very fulfilling,” Trussell noted.

“I think fundraising will be the toughest thing for me to get a hold of, but I’ll reach out to my mentors and friends for advice,” he remarked.

“We will have a young team at ALA with only two who graduated this year. I’m going to start off with creating a culture like we had at UVU, a culture where everyone is on board. I believe success will come when there is a high standard, and everyone knows that standard and works toward it.”

Trussell is still in the process of hiring assistant coaches, but he is confident with his connections to the wrestling community in Utah Valley that he will be able to find some very capable assistant coaches.

“ALA is taking good care of me,” he explained. “With this being my first real job out of college, my ‘first big boy job’ as I like to call it, I’m really happy with where I am right now and very excited about the future of our program!” λ