Longtime Colony leader celebrates 40th birthday and 20th year of coaching in same season

PALMER — Like most people his age, Jeremy Johnson has gone through his fair share of change during the last two decades.

Johnson is married now. His hair is much shorter. Both typical with getting older.

But there are those things that haven’t changed at all. He remains passionate about his favorite sports teams and admiration for legendary heavy metal vocalist Ozzy Osbourne.

And there’s one thing that’s remained constant for the last two decades — Johnson’s tenure as the head coach of the Colony High School boys soccer team.

This year, Johnson, who turned 40 in February, entered his 20th season at the helm of the program. Johnson has spent exactly half his life in his current position, and has solidified his spot in school history, and Alaska prep soccer history in the process. Friday, during the 2014 ASAA/First National State Soccer Championships semifinals, Johnson led Colony to the 247th win of his career, and fourth trip to the state title game in program history. Only Juneau-Douglas head coach Gary Lenhart has won more soccer games as a coach in Alaska history.

Johnson is also the longest tenured coach in Colony High history. Only one other current high school head coach in the Mat-Su Valley has held their position longer. That happens to be Palmer High School head football coach Rod Christiansen, Johnson’s football coach at his alma mater, PHS.

Ten region titles. A state championship. Three coach of the year awards. Nearly 250 wins. Fourteen appearances in the state tournament since ASAA sanctioned the state championships 15 years ago. Saturday, Johnson coached the Knights in the state title game for the fourth time in his career.

Johnson, at 40, has a coaching resume those 20 years his elder may only dream of.

And all of this was born from, sort of, an unlikely start.

From blue to green

Johnson, a 1992 graduate of Palmer High School, was fairly fresh out of high school when he took his first strike at high school coaching. He’d played at the college level, and even spent a season as a college football kicker.

After attending college Outside in the fall of 1994, Johnson returned to Alaska in search of cheaper tuition and a place to stay at his parents’ house.

“I decided school was a little expensive and decided to go home for the spring. My dad, being a dad, said you can’t just go to school. You’ve got to find yourself a job,” Johnson said recently.

Johnson’s mother, andi, a former soccer coach who founded the girls’ program at Palmer High, had an idea for her 20-year-old son.

“Mom suggested Colony. They were looking for soccer coaches, boys J.V. and varsity both,” Johnson said. “(She said) you should apply to get the J.V. job.”

Johnson’s former high school coach, Rich Livingston, had offered him a volunteer position on the PHS staff. But Johnson wanted to satisfy his father’s wishes, and earn some cash in the process.

“My thinking was kill two birds with one stone,” Johnson said. “Satisfy my dad by getting a job, but also get some money.”

Johnson had already worked toward gaining coaching licensing. In soccer, coaching licenses are awarded on a number of levels. He’d already obtained his Class E and D licenses, and was scheduled to attend the course to earn his C license.

Johnson recently recalled his meeting with three Colony High administrators, and longtime champions of Valley sports, Jack Forrester, Rick Luthi and Doug Bean. Even though it was recommended Johnson apply for the junior varsity position, Johnson shot for the varsity spot.

“I kind of spewed out all of these things. I was doing all of these things that older coaches weren’t doing,” Johnson said.

Plus, Johnson stressed growing up in the sport and following in the footsteps of the coaches in his family.

They bought into it, and believed the potential of Johnson. He was named the school’s boys soccer coach in 1995.

Friend or foe?

It didn’t take long for Johnson to realize he was in a unique position as a new head coach. He’d just turned 21 when the season started, and was in a bordering peer group with most of his players.

Johnson also had to adjust to coaching and competing against former teammates.

One of his Colony players, Dennis Gum, was a former teammate on the Palmer High School hockey team. Gum transferred to Colony after spending a year on foreign exchange.

“Dennis was only two years younger than me. He was someone who was more of a peer. We played on the hockey team together,” Johnson said.

Colony’s chief rival at that time, Palmer, was one of the top teams in the state in 1995, and went on to win a state title that year. When Johnson was a senior starring on the Palmer High soccer team in 1992, those class of 95’ers were freshmen.

Two members of Palmer’s class of 1995 in particular, Mark Horvath and Daryl McKenzie, either started or played vast minutes for the Palmer team Johnson led as a senior in 1992.

“I thought about that really quick,” Johnson said. “I’ll be coaching against Mark and Daryl.”

As Johnson stressed about coaching against his former teammates, he also was concerned about gaining the respect of his new players. Johnson said the leader of his first Colony team, Bryan Chud, was an integral part of Johnson gaining the respect of his new squad.

“The one person I have to thank for that is Bryan Chud,” Johnson said. “Coming in, he was already the captain. He was a leader, and head and shoulders above everybody else on that squad. He was willing to accept me as a coach.”

In his blood

Johnson was destined to be a coach. His mother, Sandi, helped found the Palmer High School girls program. Johnson’s sister scored the first goal in the history of Palmer girls’ soccer.

His father was a coach. His grandfather, Willie Jenkins, was involved in sports for decades.

His family moved to Palmer when Johnson was in the fourth grade. For most of that time, from then until now, Johnson has had a direct link to Valley high school soccer.

“High school soccer in the Valley has been a big part of my life,” Johnson said.

Other than the springs Johnson spent in college in 1993 and 1994 he’s been involved in Valley prep soccer in some capacity. After Sandi Johnson started the Palmer High girls program, Jeremy Johnson was the team’s ball boy through his elementary and middle school years. Johnson was a varsity player throughout his four years of high school. Two years after graduation, Johnson landed his current gig at Colony.

“It’s just something in my blood,” Johnson said. “I’ve always been a part of it, and I want to continue that.”

Jenkins, the grandfather and primary influence in Johnson’s life, was involved in some capacity with athletics at Minnechaug High School in Wilbrahan, Mass., since the school opened its doors in 1964 until about 2007. Jenkins was a baseball umpire, and soccer and hockey referee. He coached both boys and girls junior varsity soccer. When he wasn’t coaching, Jenkins stepped in to be the school’s announcer at sporting events, Johnson said.

“He just showed so much dedication over the years,” Johnson said of his grandfather. “As my mom did starting the girls program.”

The only reason Sandi Johnson stopped coaching was so she could watch Jeremy play in the Palmer High boys games.

Twenty years

Johnson is the first to admit, when he took the Colony job as an Ozzy T-shirt wearing, long-haired 20-something not far removed from high school, he would have never expected to be still leading the team 20 years later.

But that’s exactly where he is.

“I didn’t expect to get hired. I definitely didn’t expect to be there as long as I have,” Johnson said.

Johnson said there are a number of things that have kept him at Colony.

“Obviously a love for the game, love for the players. I have great support from my administration. That makes it so much easier. There’s positive support coming from the principal on down to the (athletic director),” Johnson said. “When you have a good administration, good booster club, good assistant coaches, you get to focus on coaching.”

Before a home game against Wasilla earlier this year, as he talked to Wasilla head coach Blake Livingston, Johnson had one of those moments when it sort of hit him, just how long he’s been with the program, and involved in Valley soccer.

Livingston, another Palmer High alum and former high school teammate of Johnson, is in his 15th year as head coach of the Wasilla boys program. In 1990, Johnson and Livingston played for Palmer High in a state championship on a field at the Valley’s newest, yet to open, school, Colony High.

In those days, before the creation of the ASAA-sanctioned state tournament, a pair of region champions would meet in what was then considered as the state title game. The game could have been at Palmer High that year, but PHS was hosting the state track meet that day, and the game was played at the future Colony High School.

Johnson said as he and Livingston talked, both thought back to 1990 and wondered if either of them could have imagined that both would be Valley high school coaches, and both would be coaching a rival.

“Both of us have been doing this a long time, but not at the school we went to,” Johnson said.

Johnson experienced his fair share of growing pains during his early years as a coach. He did win his first career game. It was a 10-0 victory over Wasilla in a match played at Colony Middle School.

Johnson’s Knights finished 5-6-1 in 1995. But what stands out the most are one loss and one tie. Those games came against his former team, the Palmer Moose.

In Colony’s first meeting of the season against Palmer, the Moose edged Colony 1-0. Former teammate McKenzie scored the lone goal, a play that remains crystal clear in Johnson’s mind.

Colony traveled to Palmer High’s Machetanz Field for the second meeting of the season.

“It was surreal, hard to describe,” Johnson said.

Back then, instead of staging both team benches on one sideline, the soccer teams stood on opposite sidelines, like football. Johnson said making that trip across Machetanz Field to the visitor’s side was certainly strange.

“Go to the visitor’s side of the field, and look back at the big Palmer stands, it was very hard to deal with. It was very different to stare across and see that sea of blue, and realize I wasn’t in that sea of blue anymore,” Johnson said. “I wasn’t allowed in that sea of blue. It was definitely strange.”

Johnson’s Knights tied the Moose, the 1995 state champions, 0-0 that day.

It took Johnson four years to celebrate his first coaching win over his alma mater. The Knights were 0-1-1 against Palmer in 1996 and 0-0-2 versus the Moose in 1997.

In 1998, Colony beat Palmer for the first time of Johnson’s career. He called that win a pivotal moment in his Colony coaching career. The Moose won a state title in 1995 and played for another state championship in 1997. Finally beating Palmer gave Johnson and the Knights validation.

“It was one of those moments. Look at this, we’re playing soccer. We’ve built a program now. We can do this,” Johnson said. “Before that, we felt like we were chasing a program.”

The first win over Palmer is second to only Colony’s 2000 state championship in Johnson’s list of memorable wins. Colony edged Juneau-Douglas 3-2 in 2000 to win the schools first boys’ soccer state title.

Continuing to build

The way Johnson directs his team has changed, or rather, evolved.

“Only one facet of practice we did in 1995 we still do now. Things have vastly changed,” Johnson said.

One thing has stayed the same.

“We show up and work hard,” he said.

Overall, Johnson said the key to his program’s success is simple.

Consistency.

Johnson has had consistency within his coaching staff. Assistant Vince Bergkamp has shared the sidelines with Johnson for a number of years. Former players such as Will Curtis, Nathan Chud and Elliott Gilbert have returned to coach futures classes of Knights.

Most of his players focus on soccer. While other programs may rely on multi-sport standouts to help the soccer team have success, the bulk of Johnson’s talent plays soccer year-round.

Johnson said, in addition to high school soccer, his athletes are playing together in summer and winter leagues. Many of the Knights even commute to Anchorage to play in an adult league.

“Twenty players at a minimum are playing at least once a week all year round,” Johnson said.

Johnson said, not only does it keep players fit, but also consistent with their skill set. Johnson often says, eye-hand coordination can transfer from sports like football to basketball, but eye-foot coordination is unique to soccer.

‘Hasn’t crossed my mind’

Johnson has spent 20 years on the Colony sidelines, but he’s only lived in the Valley for about 10 of those years. For 10 total years, and the past six, he’s made the commute from Anchorage to the Valley to coach the team.

Coaching’s just a part-time gig. Even though it may sometimes require full-time hours, there’s never the full-time pay when it comes to leading high school sports. Jobs, in part, have kept Johnson living in Anchorage. He’s a longtime disc jockey at KWHL, better know as “The Dude” to listeners. He’s also a sports facility manager in Anchorage.

Despite being one of the winningest coaches in Alaska prep soccer history, and making the 100-mile round trip each day during the season, Johnson said looking for another coaching opportunity, “hasn’t crossed my mind.”

He doesn’t mind the commute.

“When we were kids, we had to drive to Anchorage just to go to a movie. It’s not a big deal to commute for me,” Johnson said.

Johnson has made sacrifices to coach. Some years his coaching stipend might cover the costs to keep gas in his car for the commute.

“I’ve lost jobs, lost girlfriends,” Johnson said. “But it’s that effort and consistency. I’m showing the guys I’m willing to show up and work hard, and I want them to return that effort. A lot of it comes down to effort. I ask for effort out of the kids. I try to put in that same amount of effort.”

Live it Upsom

McKenzie, one of Johnson’s closest friends, died unexpectedly in 2012. A graphic artist and screen printer, McKenzie designed and printed Alaska-themed logos and logo wear, including his brand, “Live it Upsom.” Since McKenzie’s passing, the logo has become central to the team, and the term “Live it Upsom” has become a mantra for Johnson and his players. The Knights break every team huddle by shouting those three words.

“It’s hugely important to me,” Johnson said of including the memory and message of McKenzie within the Colony soccer program.

“Daryl was one of my best friends. That was his thing, ‘living it upsom’,” Johnson said. “He lived life to the fullest. He gave everything.”

McKenzie worked with another Palmer alum and friend of Johnson’s, Mike Kirkpatrick of Screamin’ Yeti Designs. Kirkpatrick designed multiple Colony soccer logos, which marry Johnson’s love for both Colony soccer and Ozzy Osbourne.

As Johnson continues to “Live it Upsom,” he’s proud to include his Palmer High past within his Colony High present and future. Friends like McKenzie and Kirkpatrick have found their part of the program. His mother, Sandi, his grandfather, and his high school coach during his senior year, Rich Livingston, remain tremendous influences. Danny Reynolds, his Anchorage comp coach, is another big influence.

“It’s very important. I love giving credit to people who molded me as a player and a coach,” Johnson said. “Rich Livingston was a big one. The work ethic he instilled in us. I brought that from Palmer. I combined the hard work and effort of the Palmer game, and the tactical stuff I learned from Danny.”

The most difficult changes in Johnson’s 20 years as the head coach at Colony High have been the losses. Yes, there are the title bid’s gone south, a pair of losses to South Anchorage in the 2005 and 2013 state championship games.

But it’s the losses off the field that have impacted him the most. After the untimely death of his friend, McKenzie, in 2012, Johnson’s mentor and idol, his grandfather, passed away during the 2014 regular season.

He missed a match to attend the funeral in Massachusetts. Johnson told his players, he never wants to miss a match, but this was his grandpa.

Another big piece to Johnson’s life was his beloved Labrador, Kiska, who spent most of Johnson’s career on the sidelines of every Colony match and practice. Johnson lost Kiska during the 2011 state tournament.

But regardless of win or loss, on or off the field, Johnson is fueled by the pride of his growth. His mother, grandfather, and former coaches, he said, continue to inspire him.

“You give everything, every match, you’ll come out on top,” Johnson said.