Coach Johnson leads with intentionality

Led by new coach Trevor Johnson, the Liberty University women’s volleyball team enters the 2018-19 season with high hopes and a renewed focus on personal growth and progress both on the court and off.

For Johnson, who is a back-to-back National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national title winner as both a player and a coach, the Lady Flames’ ability to worry only about what they can control themselves is a key component he hopes to implement in his first year in Lynchburg.

“Through Christ, we can become the best versions of ourselves,” Johnson said. “We’re not going to compare ourselves to anybody else, we’re just going to be the best of us.”

Johnson aims to build one of the premier women’s volleyball programs in the country at Liberty, but he said that first and foremost he wants the players to have the best college experience possible and get prepared for life as women after volleyball.

“I’m going to care about them as people more than a player,” Johnson said. “I’m going to invest in their lives. I think athletes don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

As part of that, Johnson has intentionally allowed time for the team to get to know each other better as individuals as well as bond together as a group.

“I definitely think relationships in the team (are most important),” junior right-side hitter Casey Goodwin said. “Coach stresses those a lot.”

While Johnson would love to see on-court success in 2018 and beyond, he and his team of two seniors, five juniors and 10 sophomores and freshmen have off-the-court success on their mind as well.

“There’s a lot more life lessons to be learned than just wins and losses,” Johnson said. “If I’m just concerned about that, then I’m missing the big picture.”