New, young faces crowd the PHS football locker room. There is an air of positivity and a distinct underdog attitude of hungry athletes looking to prove themselves. Not only did the team graduate 22 seniors, but assistant coach Jerome Johnson stepped up to take the place of former head coach John Trotman, who resigned unexpectedly.
This is Johnson’s first time working at Piedmont. As soon as he got the call asking to be interviewed, he was very interested in working here. Even though he initially signed on as the assistant coach, Johnson said he is very happy with being named interim head coach.
Johnson grew up playing football in New Orleans, Louisiana and has been coaching many different high school and college teams for the past 27 years, including Bishop O’Dowd and McClymonds High School. Johnson became a coach because he values coaching and mentoring young men.
“It’s really about winning the game of life than x’s and o’s,” Johnson said. “It’s more about how you get a young man to be a better person and a better teammate and that transcends in life.”
Johnson said he has had a lot of experience working with many different kinds of teams. He has learned that most student-athletes have similar goals and dreams. From working with different teams, he understands that their socio-economic status may differ but it does not change their athletic mindset.
“I’ve coached at some schools that have a tradition of winning, and some have a tradition of losing,” Johnson said. “Some schools have money, some are broke. But that doesn’t change how the athletes think.”
Johnson said his coaching style is aggressive and relentless, but he also emphasizes teaching and learning.
Senior and co-captain Georgie Brayer said he has felt a real difference on the team this year compared to last year. The team is much younger this year, and it is many players’s first time playing on varsity. The team graduated 22 seniors last year, eight of whom started.
“Last year we had a lot of talent and we tried to go straight off of being more talented than teams,” Brayer said. “But this year we have really had to grind it out, and our game plan and really has to be on point in order to win.”
Senior and co-captain Patrick Selna said that Johnson is an easy person to relate to and is very good at communicating with the team.
“He’s very good at being your friend and your coach at the same time,” Selna said. “He finds a really good balance because he has each player’s best interests in mind as the best interests of the team.”
So far Johnson said he has really enjoyed working at Piedmont because of its unique parent participation.
“It makes it a lot easier to coach, not necessarily having to worry about other administrative tasks that you don’t have time to do,” Johnson said.
Johnson does not yet know if he will be the head coach next season but said he would love to. He said he is happy with the team performance so far and it is a great group of guys.
“We’re not expected to win anything but we’re going to shock a lot of people,” Johnson said. “I think a lot of coaches are scheduling Piedmont to be a cakewalk, but that’s not going to happen.”
