DE PERE (NBC 26) – The West De Pere girls soccer team has had a lot of success recently, winning 7 straight league titles. This year they have a up-to-date head coach whose resume will support the team continue its winning ways.
“I worked at UWGB for three years,” Chad Johonson said. “From there I went to St. Norbert College. I worked at a school now called Loons. Bay Port High School as girls coach. My last internship: Green Bay Glory.”
Johnson was removed from the game after a two-year hiatus and wanting to get back into the game, he called former Phantoms head coach Matt Ganzen.
“I said you’re looking for an assistant coach, I just want to come back and be a good cop, not a bad cop, and support the players on the bench, and he said, ‘Well, just so you know I’m leaving, why don’t you put your name in the interview,’ and I will support you.”
Ganzen worked for many years on a program that achieved lasting success.
“Personally, I was very sad,” Phantoms junior Faith Walder said. “I loved him as a coach.”
While they were gloomy to see him leave, after a few games they were excited to play for Johnson.
“I really think Chad brings a lot of new perspective to the game, a lot of new techniques, and also a good perspective on the game,” junior Marissa Vandeihei said.
“He is extremely intelligent,” Walder said. “Probably one of the smartest coaches I have ever met. It brings a lot. He knows so much about this game that I’ve never seen before.
The band’s motto is: “Brain, Heart, Feet” is what they believe in.
“Every training session we emphasize three things that we need to practice,” Johnson said. “We have to exercise the brain, we have to exercise the heart. We need to exercise our feet. If we can do these three things effectively and intensely, it will be an effective practice.
The new head coach says taking over a team with many returning players from a team that was one win away from state and has a winning tradition made his transition seamless. Both Walder and VanDeiHei led the team in goals scored last season.
“Things have worked out so well in the past that you kind of come in and let the river continue to flow, but at the same time you change its course a little bit. Make a few small changes. Make players believe in themselves a little differently,” Johnson said.
