It’s been said that a good coach can coach anything. That assertion is based on the assumption that the person “has it all together” in terms of their profession: being caring, goal-oriented, committed, focused, understanding, knowledgeable, forward-thinking, driven, yet still being human.
Samye Johnson was a good coach.
“Why did Johnson have such devotion to her craft and sacrifice so much for The W and to her players?” asked Dr. Teresa Thompson, a member of MUW’s Alumni Office. “It was because she understood her role as a mentor. Like so many other W administrators, coaches, and staff who have gone the extra mile to provide opportunities for student-athletes to compete, Johnson used The W’s educational model that emphasized the importance of academics, fairness, and integrity over winning. But, with this professional success, Johnson’s most important success has been as a mentor to hundreds of students during her career, and the many memories created.”
Johnson’s vast scope of duties during her tenure as a member of the Blues (as MUW teams were known back then) athletics staff from 1978-1993, included: head volleyball coach, head basketball coach, and head softball coach…often doing all three concurrently. Additionally, as an athletics administrator, came those inevitable “other duties as assigned,” which she tackled with equal fervor.
But it was on the sidelines where Johnson truly shined. And volleyball, arguably, was her brightest beacon. In her 15 years at the helm of the Blues’ program, she amassed a record of 431-185 (70 percent wins), had the school’s only NCAA volleyball playoff appearances (and two top-8 finishes) in 1985 and 1986, produced 17 all-South Region players, and two all-America players. She was twice voted the NCAA II South Region Coach of the Year, as well as the 1985 NCAA II National Coach of the Year.
In 1993 – her final season at MUW’s volleyball helm – the Blues team won its first and (to this date) only conference title, as a member of the NCAA II Gulf South Conference (GSC). It was the program’s first year of its first-ever conference affiliation, as well, with Johnson honored as the 1993 GSC Coach of the Year.
In 1994, Johnson was hired away by Mississippi State University to become its head volleyball coach and assistant athletics director (the first female to hold that administrative distinction for the Bulldogs’ athletics department). Considering that the D2 Blues had beaten their D1 sisters from Starkville nearly 50 percent of the time (8-9 record) under Johnson’s tutelage, it might have been a case of “if you can’t beat ‘em, hire ‘em”!
Johnson also spent seven years at the helm of Blues basketball between 1982-89, amassing a record of 106-67, a 61 percent winning record. Johnson had just one sub-.500 season and back-to-back 20-win seasons in 1983-84 (20-6) and 1984-85 (20-4). In 1983-84. Her team was ranked No. 13 in the first-ever NCAA II women’s basketball coaches poll, while Johnson received the Fastbreak D2 Coaches Award three times.
From 1978-83, Johnson was instrumental in laying the foundation for what was to become a premier sport on campus: softball. Beginning as slow pitch softball in its early years, Johnson placed in the top-3 in the state each year from 1979-83, earning back-to-back first place titles the final two seasons. Johnson – and her softball successor Rita Higgenbotham – began to transition the program to the NCAA-sponsored fastpitch game during the 1983 season, as well.
Former player Mary Noble Massey Cain recalls Johnson’s coaching style. “She expected everything you had plus a little more. ,” Cain said. “But outside practice time, she was always available to listen, to advise, to help you if you needed it. Coach cared about every one of us, and you didn’t want to disappoint her. She was a great role model then and she continues to be to this day.”
Excelling on multiple fronts was probably no big deal to Johnson. A 1971 MSCW alumnae, Johnson’s own collegiate athletic career saw her participate in volleyball, basketball, badminton, and swimming. The Blues won the 1970 state MAIAW volleyball tournament and qualified for the National Invitational Volleyball Tournament.
In 2002, Johnson was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame as a coach.
The above-mentioned attributes – and many, many others to be sure – are easily associated with Johnson by anyone who knows her. If The W Athletics had its own Mt. Rushmore for coaches, Johnson’s face would be on it. But for now, her recognition in our Hall of Fame – along with her 1986 team, two of her players, and even her athletic trainer/bus driver - will have to do as a testament to Samye Johnson’s legacy and why she sits among MUW’s pantheon of coaches.
