Welcome to “winning ain’t easy”.
My name is Wayne Johnson, and I spent 29 years teaching and coaching in the public education profession in Texas, 27 of those, as a head basketball coach. I would assume that most people that know me, know me as a girls basketball coach, as I spent 18 years in that capacity. However, my coaching experience over those 29 years certainly wasn’t limited to coaching girls basketball….I started my career as a 7th grade boys coach (football, basketball, and track), and have also served stints as: Athletic Director, Head Boys Basketball, Football Defensive Coordinator, Head Tennis, Head Golf, Head Cross Country, Head Girls Track, and Head Softball. The only ‘mainstream’ sports that I haven’t coached in a public school setting are volleyball and baseball. I did have some experience with volleyball during my time as AD. Baseball, ironically enough, is actually my favorite sport! I did get to spend 4 or 5 great years coaching my son in youth baseball.
My numbers as a head basketball coach (27 yrs):
574 wins and 293 losses overall (66%) with a district record of 201-53 (79%).
24 playoff appearances
16 District Championships
12 Regional Tournament appearances
1 State Tournament appearance
I have had the pleasure of serving on the Board of Directors for both the Texas Girls Coaches Association (TGCA) and Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC). I have been honored by the TABC as their Coach of the Year for our division twice (2009 and 2011). Also, I worked for the TABC Camp of Champs from 1997-2003, serving as Director for the camp from 2001-2003.
The phrase ‘winning ain’t easy’ actually came from my brother. We were discussing teams that win on a consistent basis, and how people start to take those teams for granted, assuming that they will always win…..when he blurted out “Winning ain’t easy. Doesn’t matter what level you’re on, there are teams and coaches out there doing everything they can to beat you.”
And, he was right! Everybody out there is trying to win…..they are scheming, learning, working, trying to figure out ways to beat you. And, they have kids that are not a lot different (in most cases) than yours. Winning is anything but easy!