Johnson roars into CCS Lions’ AD job
A builder of state title programs in Ohio, N.C., new athletics head envisions ‘a gold mine’ of potential
Bruce Johnson, right, new Concord Christian School high school athletic director, with Ryan Bolinger, the man he hired as new Lions high school varsity football coach — who currently also heads the CCS Middle School program.
“This place is a gold mine,” said Johnson, with a track record of successful reclamation work by turning losing programs into state champions in Ohio and North Carolina, about the Lions’ and Lady Lions’ programs. “The potential here is unbelievable.
“If we could just get this ship straightened out and start doing things the right way,” he added. “… We’ve got a tremendous school, we’ve got a great reputation for doing things right Biblically, and having a great academic program here.
“We need to show people that we can do this well with what we have.”
To help kick-start the process, “We’re going to market our kids. … What I’ve been really good at is marketing my athletes,” Johnson said. “We’re going to develop an athletic website,” which is ccslionsathletics.org/. “… We use social media, we use the website, we use Facebook, we use Twitter, we use Instagram.
“Not just who they are athletically, but who they are as people,” he added. “We’ve got some great stories with these kids.
“It’s going to be shock-and-awe what we’re going to do here at Concord Christian.”
Rags to riches reclaimations
At Howland High School in Warren, Ohio, “I built one of the top football programs in the nation,” Johnson said. “… It had a rich history but had taken a big downturn when I got there in 2000.
“When I left there (after the 2008 season) we had been invited to the Herbstreit Classic in Canton, (Ohio) as one of the top football teams in the nation,” he added. “We had several undefeated seasons during that time.”
Upon his trek to North Carolina, “We started two football programs at Christian schools, and both of those have won state titles,” Johnson said about High Point Christian School (there during 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons), which won a state crown after he left, “and Statesville Christian School (2014 through 2016 seasons). We won the state title in our first year of eligibility, in 2016.”
Johnson comes most recently from Union County (North Carolina) High School, where he served as a teacher last school year.
How he got to CCS
With he and his son, J.D. Johnson (a basketball head coach at Cape Fear High School, North Carolina), having a mutual friendship with Brandon Clifford, Grace Christian Academy varsity boys basketball head coach, “Brandon told me about Concord Christian,” Johnson said. “He said, ‘You need to come over here. That school is in the best location.’ He said, ‘they’ve got a great school.
“’They just need leadership in that athletic department,’” he added about Clifford’s comments. “… So I looked at it and thought, ‘well, why not?’”
Programs
While acknowledging volleyball “is our best” CCS sport to date, having reached the 2017 Class A State Tournament, Johnson added, “I think we’re going to take a run at the state title” this fall.
“I think we’re going to be very competitive in girls and boys soccer,” he added. “Our swimming program is really strong. We’ve got really good numbers and a great feeder program. And we’ve got really quality coaches working with them.”
As for boys basketball, “We’ve got a really good seventh- and eighth-grade class,” Johnson said. “And we’ve got some good returning kids on our team. And we’ve got some kids who are really showing some interest, so we’re hopeful.
“We’ve got a nice, young
coach and we really want to support him,” he added about Scott Graham.
Though saying Lady Lions softball “is going to get better” as an infant program, Johnson added, “Our big concern right now is getting our baseball program going.”
Facilities
Saying CCS “is going to start a capital campaign for facilities,” Johnson added about Lions baseball, “That’s where a facility would really be helpful. We need find a place to build a baseball facility.”
On the other hand, “In softball we think we’ve got a facility we can upgrade,” Johnson said.
However, the new AD said CCS is “trying to partner with a park in Lenoir City for our softball team” for home games next spring.
Though Johnson said the school has plans for on-campus facility upgrades representing a handful of sports, he did not want to make any plans public until he and other CCS officials approached Town of Farragut officials about being in compliance with Town codes and ordinances.
