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Johnson Also Named Interim Athletic Director  Coach Brad Johnson talks to players as he was announced head boys basketball coach at ECHS. Darren Doyle, story and photos:
Brad Johnson was named the head boys basketball coach at Edmonson County High School today by Principal Jonathan Williams. He takes over for retiring coach Mike McClintic, who just finished his 43rd year in coaching. Johnson brings an impressive resume to ECHS as not only a coach, but also a teacher and administrator over the course of his nearly 30 year professional career, which includes:
Johnson thanked the administration for the opportunity to come back to ECHS as a Virtual Advisor and AE teacher, and he was invited to be part of the boys basketball program as an assistant. Johnson thanked Coach Mac for his friendship and mentorship over the years. "I can't say enough good things about Coach Mac, one of the absolute best friends I have in the whole world and one of the absolute best people I've ever met." Johnson said he was one of the first that Coach Mac told when he was thinking about retirement. "I tried to talk him out of it," he said. "He told me he wanted me to take his job and if he hadn't told me that, I wouldn't have taken it. If he'd have told me they were forcing him out and not wanting him to coach anymore, then I'd have been out with him. That's how much I think of him." Johnson told the Edmonson Voice to expect lots of shooting from next year's team. "We've got some kids that can really shoot, so right now I anticipate having the green light to shoot threes," he said. "At the varsity level with scouting reports, people might take that away, so you have to be able to have a plan B, be able to cut and to drive. Unselfishness. These kids really like each other and you'll see a brand of unselfish basketball. We'll try some up-tempo stuff this summer. You can always slow down if you need to. We'll press some this summer to see what it looks like and adjust on the fly. You'll see man-to-man and switch up because we're all about the same size. You'll see a motion game. Not a whole lot of plays, but trying to teach them how to play and play off each other. The main thing is really playing hard. Going for loose balls, 50/50 balls, and taking charges. This team played very, very hard, but we have to take that out there everyday where the community is proud of the effort we give." Johnson also offered little leaguers and middle school players spots behind the bench during games and an open invitation for them to hear pregame speeches in the locker room. He said he believes a basketball team is a community product and all teams should be part of the same program, no matter the ages. Principal Jonathan Williams, who played for Johnson from 1999 to 2002, said he was confident that Johnson was the right person for the job because he felt like Johnson would not only make the kids better players, but also better people. "When an era ends, someone else has to come in and lead the program from where it is and take it to wherever it's going, and he's the absolutely, 100% the right person to do that." Some achievements from Coach Johnson are:
Principal Williams also told the Edmonson Voice that Johnson has also been named interim athletic director at ECHS to finish out this school year. He will fill the role of the departing Kyle Pierce, who has served as AD since 2010. Williams said a new AD will be named for the next school year.
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