Volleyball: Magnolia's Johnson reminds coaches to smile

During her time as a speaker in the Basin's Best Volleyball Clinic, Magnolia High volleyball coach Terri Johnson went back several times to her favorite mantra:

"If you don't laugh at least once a day, even if it's at yourself, what are you doing coaching?"

Johnson then proceeded to keep the other clinic participants laughing Saturday during her hour-long presentation on drills for outside hitters.

The same drills helped her guide the Lady Bulldogs to the Region III- 4A championship in 2008 and a berth in the Class 4A state semifinals, where they lost to eventual champion Hereford.

A 20-year veteran of the coaching ranks, Johnson likes to keep her workouts as fast-paced as her presentation. She talked about everything from a player's approach to the net and hitting position to myriad drills that allow players to work on hitting to specific areas while adding fun and competition to the work.

"For the first eight years I was coaching, I didn't have any fun," Johnson said. "I was all about winning and preparing to win and I wasn't happy.

"Now, I'll crack jokes and the players will be like ‘Whatever,' and I have to laugh at their reactions. Sometimes you have to make your own fun."

When she finished her time in front of the group, Johnson showed a more serious side when the topic of year-round volleyball was brought up.

Johnson knows that she has benefited from the training her players get with club teams, but also knows the demands that playing competitive volleyball for 11 months out of the year put on a young athlete's body.

"Shoulders, knees, ankles, everything gets sore and worn out," Johnson said. "You have a player in high school that hits maybe 500 balls during a week of practice and then they go and work out for several hours each week with their club team and it's going to take a toll on the body.

"Just this week I lost a player to a knee injury when she worked out for three hours with her club team, which included an hour of work in the pool, and then came to play in a summer league game on tired legs. She just turned to chase a ball and tore her ACL and is gone for the year.

"If I had known just how hard she had worked during the day, I would have told her to come cheer her teammates on, but she wasn't going to play. What's the big deal about losing a summer league game, instead of losing a player."

If Johnson knows one of her players has been in a competitive situation during the regular season, she goes out of her way to make sure they get proper rest and rehabilitation.

"We do a lot of conditioning and strengthening exercises for our shoulders, arms and legs," Johnson said, "but the best cure is rest."