By Collin Fehr
(September 27, 2022)
Coaches are often highly competitive people. They are driven to succeed both in and out of sport. A key part of any coach’s job is to develop athletes to achieve optimal performance. To do this, every coach must first develop themselves. Although many outlets are available, an essential component to any coach’s development is regular reflection on current practices. Not only does this activity benefit the reflecting coach, but other coaches can also benefit from observing the results. The purpose of this article series is to highlight three experienced coaches and their responses to a simple reflective exercise. Their replies are meant to stimulate reflection in other coaches who are then invited to emulate this same process. Each article in this three-part series will spotlight one coach’s simple reflective practice using a Question-and-Answer format.
Austin Johnson, Head Men’s Basketball Coach, Lewis-Clark State College
How did you get to where you are today?
I was fortunate enough to play ‘small college’ basketball which ultimately opened a lot of doors for me in coaching. I spent a year at Butler Community College in El Dorado, KS, and then finished my playing career at Oklahoma Wesleyan which is an NAIA program in Bartlesville, OK. My coach at Butler CC was Dennis Helms who is in the NJCAA Hall of Fame and also gave me my first coaching job at Odessa College. My undergraduate degree is in Business-Marketing and my master’s degree is in Sport Management.
I knew I wanted to coach so in the summers I worked basketball camps all over the country trying to network and build a resume. This allowed me to meet coaches at all levels of basketball. Thus far in my coaching career, I have had the great opportunity to work at Odessa College (TX), Western Illinois University, Corban University (OR), and Lewis-Clark State (ID). I was the head coach at Corban University for 2 years and just finished my 4th year as head coach at Lewis-Clark State. (Author’s Note: Coach Johnson has been twice named the NAIA National Coach of the Year during his 4 years at Lewis-Clark State College)
What is your coaching philosophy/style?
I would describe myself as a coach who tries to be very relational with our recruits and players. Our goal is to win a championship every year and to do that you will go through a lot of adversity and trying times. If there isn’t a foundation of relational trust then it will be hard to navigate those challenges. At Lewis-Clark State we coach our players hard, but also give them support on and off the court every step of the way. You can’t coach someone hard and challenge them to continue to give more if there isn’t an off-court relationship.
What has worked well in your coaching career?
I have learned a lot in my career as an assistant and during my 6 years as a head coach. I would say the biggest things I have learned are to trust my gut and to try and be comfortable in my own skin. This is a very competitive industry to work in and when I was younger I caught myself too often trying to be a coach (leader, motivator, speaker, etc.) that I naturally wasn’t. I think it’s important to retain your own personality and to be authentic while still trying to grow, learn and get better. If you are being inauthentic in your approach to your job or building relationships I don’t think you can sustain success or the appropriate competitive culture.
What has NOT worked well in your coaching career?
Putting every player’s happiness above the overall health of the team.
What is one thing you wish you had known early on?
Definitely more than one, but… One thing that I wish I knew early on, but am also still learning, is truly understanding what is and isn’t under our control as coaches. We can have perfect plans and a clear vision for our program, but we aren’t perfect and neither are our players or life. Navigating what areas/challenges are worth more of your time and energy than others is a lifelong process. When I was younger I treated every challenge/problem as being my number one priority at that moment and it was exhausting and led to me being an inefficient head coach.
What is the best piece of advice you can give an aspiring young coach?
Find a coach who you aspire to be first as a person, then as a professional. Find a mentor that has the work/life/family balance that you would like to have and learn from them. Who you work for will dictate and impact every facet of your life both personally and professionally. As much as you would like to advance in this career it’s also important you are learning how to be a coach of integrity and selflessness. Success in this industry is often fleeting so being able to have an identity that’s not tied to wins-losses is important if you are going to really be able to serve your players and be the parent/spouse you desire to be.
About Coach Johnson: Austin Johnson completed his fourth season at the helm of the Lewis-Clark State College Warriors in 2021-22 after three record-setting seasons on and off the court. The NABC NAIA Coach of the Year in back-to-back seasons, he led LC State to the program’s first national title game in 2021 and finished the season with the best winning percentage in program history (.917) with a record of 22-2. Johnson earned his 100th win as a head coach (Corban and LC State) during the 2020-21 season. Johnson’s career in the Northwest began in 2010 when he was hired as LCSC’s assistant coach. He was ultimately named the Associate Head Coach entering the 2015 season. During his time on staff the Warriors averaged over 20 wins per year, won three regular-season Frontier Conference titles and two Frontier Conference Tournament Championships. Prior to LCSC, he spent two years as a graduate assistant coach at Western Illinois University for Jim Molinari. He started his career as a volunteer assistant coach at Odessa Junior College in Texas, where he worked for NJCAA Hall of Fame Coach Dennis Helms. Johnson earned his Master’s in Sports Management at WIU after graduating in 2008 from Oklahoma Wesleyan University with a Business Marketing degree.
