BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Coaching proved to be a natural fit for Kenyia Johnson, allowing her to remain associated with the sport she loves — basketball.
Johnson now brings her love of the game to Bradford High School as the Tornadoes’ new girls head coach.
“It is definitely a blessing,” said Johnson, who is entering her first-ever head-coaching gig. “I was assistant coach for two years at Bishop Snyder. To get an opportunity this big is a really good feeling.”
Johnson was a standout guard at Fleming Island High School. During her senior season (2013-14), she averaged 17 points, six rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocks per game. She established career records for points (1,206), assists (242), steals (274), blocks (140) and rebounds (407).
She continued her playing career at the University of Evansville (Indiana). After earning her degree in sports management in two years, she transferred to Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond to finish out her playing career.
Think of the highest number you want — that’s how much harder it was being a student-athlete in college as opposed to high school, Johnson said.
“You start your days at about 5 in the morning, and you end them about 9 at night, just to start it all over again,” she said.
That doesn’t mean it wasn’t enjoyable, though.
“It was a great experience,” Johnson said. “I met a lot of people — some of my best friends today.”
Johnson remained involved with the sport as a trainer. It was a chance meeting with Carl Heilman, the Bishop Snyder girls head basketball coach, that resulted in the start of her coaching career.
Heilman envisioned Johnson succeeding him as head coach, but he was OK with her taking the job at Bradford instead. Johnson said Heilman told her all he really wanted was to get her involved in coaching to start with.
“Carl is a big piece of me,” Johnson said.
Though she was involved in basketball training, Johnson hadn’t given thought to coaching prior to Heilman giving her that opportunity. Once she took that opportunity, it felt like it was what she was meant to do. Johnson said it’s the next best thing to actually playing.
“You still get that nervousness when game day comes,” Johnson said. “Everything is the same — you just can’t suit up. I definitely fell in love with (coaching).”
She may not suit up anymore, but Johnson still gets to show off her skills against players during practices.
“I have lots of fun doing that,” she said. “A lot of (players) try to challenge me sometimes, but I’ve got to shut them down, just to show them I’ve still got it.”
Taking on a new role
As the new BHS coach, Johnson takes over a program that has had only three winning seasons in the past nine years. However, the Tornadoes were district runners-up in five of those seasons, which qualified them for the regional playoffs.
BHS won the program’s only state championship in 1994-95. Since then, the Tornadoes have won four district championships and been the district runners-up nine times, resulting in a total of 13 playoff appearances during that span. However, BHS has only advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs four times since winning state.
Johnson would love for her new team to follow in the footsteps of the BHS boys team, which won that program’s first state title this past season. She’s heard her players talk about wanting to win state. Johnson said it’s her job to put them in the best situation possible to try to do just that.
For now, it’s about settling in as the new coach and getting to know her team. Johnson said her meetings with the players have been positive.
“I’ve just talked to them about buying in and trusting the process and trusting me,” she said. “So far, it’s been really great. I’ve been building a relationship with these girls.”
One of the most important things she learned at Bishop Snyder that will help her as a head coach is to listen to players and to have faith in the assistant coach, Johnson said. In fact, she prefers to use the title “associate head coach” as opposed to “assistant coach.”
“As a head coach, you don’t see everything,” she said. “There’s no way you can possibly know everything. I respect that title of ‘associate head coach’ because that’s pretty much what your assistant is.
“It’s not only that, but taking feedback from the girls in general. Just because I went through the experiences (of playing), that doesn’t mean I know everything.”
Johnson said she’s got a great associate head coach in Loretta Leverson, who was already a part of the BHS basketball program.
“I joke around with a lot of people on campus,” Johnson said. “I’m like, ‘Look, you’ve got to get yourself a Loretta.’ She’s that perfect person you need on your side. She has my back 100 percent.
“When I asked the girls to buy in, I had to ask for her to buy in as well. Without a doubt, she’s done that. She’s awesome.”
What kind of coach is BHS getting in Johnson? When asked to describe herself, she laughed and asked, “What’s the score?”
Johnson said what BHS fans will see is someone who lives and breathes basketball.
“It’s almost as if I’m out there on the court with them,” she said. “You might get a little yelling. You definitely might hear a little yelling, but that just comes from my passion — my overall passion for the game.
“I owe this game everything.”
The style of her team’s play will be dependent on what type of players she has on the court. When it comes to defense, Johnson said her preference is to play man-to-man. In fact, her eyes light up when she talks about playing defense in general. It’s something she took pride in as a player.
“It shows how hard you’re willing to work,” Johnson said. “Are you really determined? Motivated? Defense — that’s where you get all of the rewards from. That’s where you find out who a person really is.”
Johnson obviously wants to win as many games as possible, but if you take the win-loss record out of the equation, she said a successful program is one that helps put youth on the road to future success.
“It’s just about preparing these girls for life, making sure that when it’s their time, and they get out there in the real world, they’re as prepared for it as much as possible,” Johnson said. “Basketball teaches us many lessons. I’m trying to teach them as many lessons as I possibly can.”
The Tornadoes’ new head coach can’t wait for the season to start. She said she and Leverson talk about it every day.
“We are extremely excited,” Johnson said. “I cannot wait to get back in the gym. We may be a little more pumped than (the players) are, but that’s because (the players) know they’ve got to work a little bit.”
