City youth better off because of Johnson

I was walking out of the Providence High gym a few months ago

following a match involving the Pioneers’ boys’ volleyball team.

As I made my way to my car, I ran into longtime

Bellarmine-Jefferson High and area youth Coach Russ Johnson. Although

the Guards weren’t involved in the match, Johnson was there to show

support for the rival high school.

Despite the excitement of the contest, Johnson was interested in

talking about something else. Just a week earlier, one of the coach’s

former youth players, Tom Kelly -- who also coached at Burroughs --

led the Hart boys’ basketball team to the CIF Southern Section

Division IAA championship game.

Johnson was practically beaming talking about his former player.

“Tom has done such a good job with that team,” Johnson said.

“I remember Tommy when he used to be a player for me. Boy, did he

like to shoot the ball. I don’t think he ever met a shot he didn’t

like.

“But it’s really nice to see the success he is having at Hart.”

That was typical Russ Johnson. I don’t think many things made him

as happy in sports than seeing his players enjoying success and doing

well.

Although Johnson isn’t around to give praise to athletes who

needed a pat on the back or a bit of encouragement, many of us will

never forget a man who devoted a large portion of his life helping

young boys and girls be the best they can be.

Johnson, who was a mainstay at Bell-Jeff and at St. Finbar Parish

School, died Wednesday. He was 67.

Like countless others, I am honored to have known Johnson, who was

always quick with a smile and an outstretched hand whenever I saw

him.

One of the things that amazed me about Johnson was how often I saw

him at area sporting events. From volleyball to football to

basketball, he was a fixture at Guards’ contests.

But, as evidenced by his attendance at the Providence volleyball

match, he also enjoyed taking in contests at all the area schools.

I could always count on Johnson to give me his personal spin on

the game taking place. Whether it be a basketball squad missing its

defensive assignments, or a volleyball team not getting production

from its outside hitters, Johnson’s expertise and keen sports eye

helped provide some interesting perspectives.

Without a doubt, he knew his athletics, and he had a wealth of

knowledge on a wide variety of sports.

*

Johnson was a longtime walk-on coach at Bell-Jeff who started the

boys’ volleyball program in 1987. He also assisted the boys’

basketball program.

Johnson coached the boys’ volleyball team on and off in three

stints since its inception, often having to work around his regular

work schedule. He has also worked on and off with the boys’

basketball program since 1979.

Despite officially retiring from coaching in 2002, Johnson

continued to help out and assist Guard teams the last few years.

He also spent more than 45 years working for the Federal Aviation

Administration.

Known for his coaching throughout the city, Johnson influenced

thousands of lives as a coach and athletic director at St. Finbar.

In 1998, Johnson was inducted into the Catholic Youth Organization

Hall of Fame with former women’s basketball star Ann Meyers and

former UCLA football Coach Terry Donahue.

As influential as he was as a coach, Johnson didn’t initially

choose the profession as a progression in his life.

In 1952, Johnson was an imposing 6-foot, 230-pound 14-year-old

freshman at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High with hopes of playing

football on the varsity level. But CIF Southern Section rules at the

time forbade players younger than 15 from playing varsity football.

Stung by the situation, Johnson took a job coaching volleyball at

the Nazareth House Orphanage in Van Nuys. That first taste of

coaching planted a seed that Johnson continued to cultivate.

“I was in a real predicament in high school,” Johnson said in a

story four years ago. “I was too big to play junior varsity football

and too young to play varsity. Then I heard Nazareth House was

looking for someone to coach its fifth and sixth graders, I took it

as an opportunity.

“But this was not just. a coaching job. Nazareth House was the

boarding school I lived at after my parents got divorced. And

although it was tough at the beginning to be there, what they had to

offer was really good for me.

The coaching job was a chance to give something back.”

And for more than 50 years, Johnson gave so much back to a

community that came to love and respect him.

I for one, will always remember him as a witty, jovial and warm

person who always took time to promote his players and teams.

I know I’m not alone in saying he will be missed.

* JEFF TULLY is the sports editor of the Burbank Leader. He can be

reached at 637-3245, or by e-mail at [email protected]