tIM JOHNSoN, ALBUQUERQUE HIGH
How did you fi rst get interested in coaching? Did you
have somebody who got you excited about coaching as
a career?
Coaching has always been something that I wanted to do. Once I physically stopped
playing the game it was a way for me to still be involved. I enjoy seeing how this
game changes the lives of young men as it did for me when I was growing up. If
I had to choose one person that influenced my career as a coach it would be my
little league baseball coach, John Battle.
What would you have become professionally if not a teacher/coach?
What appealed to you about that profession?
I would have pursued a career in broadcast journalism. I briefly worked at a TV station in the early 1990s
as a basketball play-by-play commentator. I actually did not set out to become one, it kinda fell into my lap.
I was helping a friend read for a position and the station manager loved my voice. After about two games I
fell in love with it. The atmosphere and roar of the crowd gave me the same type of rush I would get playing
sports.
Tell us about the most memorable game you’ve ever coached. Who was it against,
what was at stake and why is it your favorite?
I would say it was a semi-pro game against the SoCal Coyotes for a national championship. It was a made
for TV scenario. We were the underdogs who had very little fans in the crowd, about 50 or so to be exact.
The SoCal Coyotes had the No. 1 offense in the nation that year. They were running the old Run-and-Shoot
offense that Darrell “Mouse” Davis ran at Portland State while he was the head coach. To make matters
even more complicated he was on their sideline that night and had been a team consultant all year helping
them perfect his version of their offense.
Long story short they went up 21-0 by halftime. We went into the locker room and had a gut check moment
as coaches and players. We would hold the Coyotes scoreless in the second half and score 20 unanswered
points. This would bring us down to the last 40 seconds of the game on our own 25-yard line with two
timeouts. We drove the ball down to their 27-yard line and called a timeout with seven seconds on the
clock. Our kicker took the field and kicked a knuckleball into the wind that seemed as if it took an eternity
to cross the uprights of the goal post and we won that game.
Please name three things which you consider vital to the long-term health and
success of your program. Why those three?
I will have to give you four. We have a saying and acronym we use here at AHS. We play and coach this
game with our H.E.A.D. That acronym stands for Heart, Effort, Attitude, and Determination. I often get
asked why the “D” didn’t stand for discipline. It’s simple - you can’t possess the other four without having
discipline.
Beyond the game, what is your favorite part of the week’s preparation?
Why?
Film break down of our opponents and ourselves. This is the time of the week we get to analyze both of our
weaknesses and strengths. This is the time we get to evaluate how we match up and what adjustments
need to be made.
2019 Albuquerque High Schools Football Yearbook 35
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