Morenci's Kay Johnson going into national hall of fame

MORENCI — Kay Johnson has coached track and field, volleyball, basketball and, of course, softball. She’s won league titles in three sports and state titles in two.

Next June, Johnson will add another accolade to her long list of career accomplishments when she is inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Johnson downplayed the honor, while recognizing it’s nice to be honored.

“It’s nice,” she said. “I don’t coach to get inducted into any place. There’s plenty of other jobs you have that don’t have a hall of fame. I’ve got friends that work really hard at what they do and there is no hall of fame for them.

“It goes with success and longevity. I’m still enjoying what I’m doing and working with the girls. It’s nice to be recognized for that.”

The NHSACA is a professional organization of school coaches and athletic directors. Johnson has attended organization banquets before as a nominee for national coach of the year and in 1999 was the national softball coach of the year. In June she’ll not only be inducted at the ceremony, she’ll get to watch her best friend get inducted, too.

Whiteford coach Kris Hubbard is going into the hall of fame at the same time. The duo, who have coached against one another since the early 1970s, are the two representatives from Michigan going into the national Hall of Fame.

“Neither of us got into coaching for this, but it’s a nice honor,” Hubbard said. “If I have to go through all of the ceremonies and induction, I’m happy to be doing it with my best friend.”

Whiteford softball coach Matt VanBrandt said he has learned so much from Johnson and Hubbard over the years.

“I've never seen her lose her cool, on umpires or players,” VanBrandt said of Johnson. “She always keeps it respectable and knows that staying calm and in control is what her players need modeled for them. I was in awe of the mutual respect that Kris and Kay have for each other, and anyone that has a chance to spend some time with either of them is a lucky or blessed individual.”

Johnson, who lives in Ottawa Lake, graduated from Whitmer High School in Toledo in 1968 and Adrian College in 1972. At Adrian College she was a member of the college basketball, volleyball, field hockey and tennis teams.

After college she was living in Sylvania, Ohio, when she accepted a teaching and coaching job at Morenci.

At one time, she coached Morenci basketball in the fall, volleyball in the winter and track and softball in the spring. Her 1976 Bulldogs track & field team won the Lower Peninsula Class D state championship.

Softball has been her most accomplished sport. She currently owns 980 career victories and has no intention of giving up the job. She’s logged more than 50 years as the Morenci softball coach.

“I take it one year at time,” she said. “We’ll see at the end of the season. I’ll give myself a month then think about it again. I always said as long as I can protect myself when I’m pitching batting practice I’ll coach.”

Johnson was inducted into the Michigan High School Softball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1996. The Michigan High School Coaches Association honored her as their Softball Coach of the Year in 1996 and 1999.

At Morenci, she not only coached the four varsity sports but served several years as middle school basketball and volleyball coach and at one time coached the Morenci boys middle school team. She’s had roles such as filming Morenci football and basketball games and was the Bulldog athletic director for about five years after retiring as a principal.

“It’s a small school out in the middle of nowhere,” she said. “When you are on staff, you stay around and coach. I always liked to coach. That’s what I do.”

Johnson said she’s looking forward to the trip to North Dakota, some place she’s never been.

“I’ve never been to Bismark or North Dakota,” she said. “I’ll go out there and I’ll see what I can find.”

Hall of Fame membership is based on the performance of their program over the years and their contribution to sport, school and community.

Longtime Bedford volleyball coach Jodi Manore has been affiliated with the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for several years. She praised both Johnson and Hubbard and said it was fitting they are being inducted together. She said she has been encouraging a greater representation of women coaches in the Hall of Fame.

“They’ve certainly had tremendous impact on the lives of a lot of student athletes over the years,” Manore said. “Both are outstanding coaches and role models.”

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Morenci's Kay Johnson going into NHSACA Hall of Fame