Spring Break
SOFTBALL: Coach ready for fresh start
by Jacob Kamaras
Senior Editor
Sports | 3/13/07
Posted online at 10:59 PM EST on 3/12/07
/ Last updated at 12:22 AM EST on 3/12/07
As the women's softball team opens its season today against Emory University, it will do so with a new head coach for the first time in over three decades. Jessica Johnson was hired as the team's coach this past October about a month after the controversial firing of Mary Sullivan, who coached the Judges for 32 years and filed an age discrimination suit against the University.
Johnson, who graduated from Wheaton College in 1998, was previously the head coach at Mount Ida College in Newton, where she led the Mustangs to their best two seasons in school history. The Judges are coming off a 20-24 season, their first 20-win campaign since 1999, but the softball program has been mired in mediocrity for years. JustSports caught up with Johnson to talk about her new job, the upcoming season and how she has handled the controversy surrounding her predecessor's firing.
JustSports: What attracted you to the Brandeis job?
Jessica Johnson: I applied to Brandeis for undergrad, and I had my eye on this job for a while. I never thought it would be opening up this soon. I had been a part-time coach [at Mount Ida College] for a while, and I really wanted something that was full-time.
JS: What is difficult about being a part-time coach?
JJ: You work a full-time job, and then you coach on the side. It's very difficult to run a competitive program as a part-time coach, since you can't recruit hard and you don't have as much money to work with. During the season, you have a full day of coaching. You do as much recruiting as you can on your own, but you are paying for a lot of it out of your pocket.
JS: What is the biggest challenge facing the softball team this season?
JJ: The team needs to understand how good it is. We have 14 solid kids with a lot of talent and skill. They have looked at the past and they don't see how good they could have been, so we need to instill confidence in them.
JS: How do you plan to bring the softball program out of an era of mediocrity?
JJ: We need to recruit the right softball players-kids who have been playing the game for at least 10 years by the time they get to this point.
JS: Do you feel any pressure replacing Mary Sullivan, who coached here 32 years, particularly in light of her controversial firing?
JJ: I personally don't feel any pressure. When I got here at first, I was feeling the [Sullivan] situation out, but now, I am just focused on the job ahead. The team has been very narrow-minded on what it needs to do. We just concentrate on softball.
JS: Have the players been able to put the controversy surrounding Sullivan behind them heading into the season?
JJ: They have handled that well on their own. When I came in, I suggested that if there was anything to talk about [regarding Sullivan], we should talk about it as a team. The players seemed that they wanted to just move forward, and they hopped on board with my philosophies. I think they haven't looked back.
Johnson, who graduated from Wheaton College in 1998, was previously the head coach at Mount Ida College in Newton, where she led the Mustangs to their best two seasons in school history. The Judges are coming off a 20-24 season, their first 20-win campaign since 1999, but the softball program has been mired in mediocrity for years. JustSports caught up with Johnson to talk about her new job, the upcoming season and how she has handled the controversy surrounding her predecessor's firing.
JustSports: What attracted you to the Brandeis job?
Jessica Johnson: I applied to Brandeis for undergrad, and I had my eye on this job for a while. I never thought it would be opening up this soon. I had been a part-time coach [at Mount Ida College] for a while, and I really wanted something that was full-time.
JS: What is difficult about being a part-time coach?
JJ: You work a full-time job, and then you coach on the side. It's very difficult to run a competitive program as a part-time coach, since you can't recruit hard and you don't have as much money to work with. During the season, you have a full day of coaching. You do as much recruiting as you can on your own, but you are paying for a lot of it out of your pocket.
JS: What is the biggest challenge facing the softball team this season?
JJ: The team needs to understand how good it is. We have 14 solid kids with a lot of talent and skill. They have looked at the past and they don't see how good they could have been, so we need to instill confidence in them.
JS: How do you plan to bring the softball program out of an era of mediocrity?
JJ: We need to recruit the right softball players-kids who have been playing the game for at least 10 years by the time they get to this point.
JS: Do you feel any pressure replacing Mary Sullivan, who coached here 32 years, particularly in light of her controversial firing?
JJ: I personally don't feel any pressure. When I got here at first, I was feeling the [Sullivan] situation out, but now, I am just focused on the job ahead. The team has been very narrow-minded on what it needs to do. We just concentrate on softball.
JS: Have the players been able to put the controversy surrounding Sullivan behind them heading into the season?
JJ: They have handled that well on their own. When I came in, I suggested that if there was anything to talk about [regarding Sullivan], we should talk about it as a team. The players seemed that they wanted to just move forward, and they hopped on board with my philosophies. I think they haven't looked back.
Be the first to comment on this story