Coach Bryan Johnson isn’t your typical football coach. For one, he often brings his kids to practice. Another thing, he’s a Twitter fiend.
To keep up with the players, Johnson uses social media to communicate game times, practice schedules and fundraiser information, and even uses memes to keep it interesting.
“I’m not the most tech savvy kind of guy,” he says. “I was a little late to the party, but once you get to using (Twitter), it’s the platform that the kids always are on.”
His method of communicating is like his method of coaching: he puts the players first
.“As far as the players go, they just need someone that’s gonna be there,” Johnson says. “They need a little stability. When I got there, you’d think the worst. You’d wonder why they haven’t won a lot, but the kids bust their tails and that’s not like every place around. Not only do we have good kids, but they want to win, they want to be good, they want to work.“
It’s only a matter of time until the team gets on a winning streak.
“We’ve kind of always been on the doorsteps,” Johnson says. “We are definitely waiting to kick that door down and when it happens, it’s gonna be good.”
So, how did Johnson make his way to Westerville to inspire and coach the players at North?
His career has been anything but simple. He began as a scout for the Gahanna football team while he was in college. When his wife went to law school in Cleveland, he moved his talents north to Maple Heights, where he found his passion for coaching.
”We didn’t have a coach over 30 on that staff, so it was crazy,” Johnson says. “It was a bunch of young guys having a ton of fun coaching football and teaching.”
After a few more twists and turns and a move back to Columbus, Johnson found his home at Westerville North.
“When I interviewed for the job, I talked about stability and having a family atmosphere,” he says. “Before I got the job, my first year there, the senior kids had had three coaches out of their four years. It’s traditionally been a revolving door for coaches since the 2000s. I want to turn the program around and stick with it.”
Three years later, he’s already seen improvements from the team and the coaching staff. One of their biggest calling cards is the family atmosphere encouraged by coaches and players alike.
“I take (my kids) to quite a few games. There were a couple games last year where I had my 1-year-old on my chest and the other one running around and playing with the cheerleaders,” Johnson says, laughing. “We don’t shy away from the family atmosphere. We have a lot of coaches that bring their kids to practices, too.”
This is important in showing the players that they can be part of a strong community. “It’s helped everyone see what a true family is,” Johnson says. “For football players around little kids you’d think they’d be awkward but every time we bring our kids around, they’re really awesome.”
Although Johnson primarily coaches football, with the sport comes all kinds of life lessons he wants to make sure the players hear.
“In football, we play 10 games. I had someone say to me, ‘What are you do- ing the other 355 days of the year?’” says Johnson. “When you look at it that way, 10 days out of 365 is really small in the grand scheme of things, so we give (the players) life lessons and things like that to make them better people.”
Over the summer, the team continued practicing when it was safe and meeting via Zoom when it wasn’t. The team has followed all protocols surrounding the pandemic and has managed to keep its spirits high and its bond close. Most of all, Johnson is looking forward to seeing the players succeed this year.
“We’re not the biggest team, so with moving leagues and the kids busting their tails, hopefully we see some good things on Fridays and Saturdays,” he says. “When we finally beat a Westerville, whether it’s Central or South, that’ll be the moment.”
After a few more twists and turns and a move back to Columbus, Johnson found his home at
Westerville North.
“When I interviewed for the job, I talked about stability and having a family atmosphere,” he says. “Before I got the job, my first year there, the senior kids had had three coaches out of their four years. It’s traditionally been a revolving door for coaches since the 2000s. I want to turn the program around and stick with it.”
Three years later, he’s already seen improvements from the team and the coaching staff. One of their biggest calling cards is the family atmosphere encouraged by coaches and players alike.
“I take (my kids) to quite a few games. There were a couple games last year where I had my 1-year-old on my chest and the other one running around and playing with the cheerleaders,” Johnson says, laughing. “We don’t shy away from the family atmosphere. We have a lot of coaches that bring their kids to practices, too.”
This is important in showing the players that they can be part of a strong community.
“It’s helped everyone see what a true family is,” Johnson says. “For football players around little kids you’d think they’d be awkward but every time we bring our kids around, they’re really awesome.”
Although Johnson primarily coaches football, with the sport comes all kinds of life lessons he wants to make sure the players hear.
“In football, we play 10 games. I had someone say to me, ‘What are you do- ing the other 355 days of the year?’” says Johnson. “When you look at it that way, 10 days out of 365 is really small in the grand scheme of things, so we give (the players) life lessons and things like that to make them better people.”
Over the summer, the team continued practicing when it was safe and meeting via Zoom when it wasn’t. The team has followed all protocols surrounding the pandemic and has managed to keep its spirits high and its bond close. Most of all, Johnson is looking forward to seeing the players succeed this year.
“We’re not the biggest team, so with moving leagues and the kids busting their tails, hopefully we see some good things on Fridays and Saturdays,” he says. “When we finally beat a Westerville, whether it’s Central or South, that’ll be the moment.”
Sarah Robinson is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
