“When you have players who are willing to listen, who are teachable and committed and want to get better,” Johnson said, “I can wake up in the morning and feel satisfied I’m having an impact on young kid’s lives.”
be a pretty good team again.”
Nonetheless, he recognizes that he will be coaching a team with a new person- ality in September; a nationally-ranked contending team wearing a bulls-eye on its back again. “When you start that jour- ney, you start that process again,” he said. “And that’s what we like to do as coaches.” During the off-season, Johnson found himself on Penn State’s recruiting list for a coach for its new men’s hockey team. At the very least, he was on the short list of
candidates. Did the self-examination come at a good time?
“It is good,” he said. “Sometimes a situation comes along when you owe it to yourself and your family to at least look at it. There aren’t many situations in my position that I would even consider looking at. I really like the way Barry (Alvarez) and the athletic department support women’s hockey.”
And he’s really grateful for a new facility on campus in addition to really liking his
lifestyle in Madison. That’s what makes him tick. Johnson’s fulfillment comes from his players and the sport itself. “When I go on the ice and shut the door behind me,” he said, “and I start running practices or getting my team prepared for a game, that’s the fun part of our business. “When you have players who are willing to listen, who are teachable and commit- ted and want to get better, I can wake up in the morning and feel satisfied I’m having an impact on young kid’s lives.”
