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By Sarah Robinson Photos courtesy of Bryan Johnson
Westerville North is ready to win
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The Coach Who Does the Most www.westervillemagazine.com
oach 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.
September/October 2020
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