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It didn't take long for Susie Johnson to settle into her role as the head coach for the UWM volleyball program. After 10 years as an assistant and associate head coach in Milwaukee, Johnson was named head coach in May of 2007, with former head coach Kathy Litzau taking the post of associate athletic director and senior woman administrator at UWM. Then, during her first season as head coach, all Johnson did was lead the Panthers to a school-record 26 wins and a fifth-straight Horizon League regular season title. UWM also put together winning streaks of 14 and 12 matches during her first season. Those feats led to Johnson earning League Coach of the Year honors. Now, with a full year under her belt and plenty of on-the-job training, Johnson looks to direct a new-look Panther squad to a sixth-straight league crown. "I feel like I learned a lot," Johnson said in looking back on year one. "We had a lot of different things thrown at us last year. We had a lot of injuries that people didn't even know about. There were a lot of people that couldn't practice during the week but needed to play in matches or people that could play in one match but couldn't play in two-straight matches. "We wound up tossing around a lot of different lineups and had people changing positions once the season started. So, I got used to being the final decision-maker on those things and it feels like I have more than a year under my belt. I've done my pregame speech many times now. I've had to make a lot of decisions very quickly - called the timeouts and made the lineup changes. It is amazing how much more relaxed I am this summer preparing for the year." One of the many ways Johnson continues to make her mark on the Panther program is to assemble the best non-league schedule in the Horizon League, in spite of having one of the league's youngest squads. In 2008, UWM will face off with NCAA Sweet 16 qualifiers Iowa State and Michigan State along with NCAA Tournament qualifiers Mississippi and Illinois State in the first three weeks of the season alone. But, it is part of a plan Johnson has to help the Panthers succeed on a national level, even if it causes some pause as the start of the season nears. "Because the schedule is so tough, as the season draws closer I am a little less comfortable," Johnson said. "But that is OK, because I know it is going to be a tough schedule and I feel like the team is very prepared. They have had the schedule in front of them for a few months now, they know what is ahead and they know how hard they have had to work this summer to be ready." Being ready includes the expectations that will be heaped on a young squad. With that daunting non-league slate and a number of league squads featuring all-league performers, the Panthers will face no shortage of challenges in 2008. But, Johnson's track record in Milwaukee leads one to believe this much different version of the Panthers will be just as successful as those in preceeding seasons.
UWM has won either the regular season or tournament championship in league play in all 11 seasons Johnson has been on the staff at UWM. Six of the last 11 Panther squads have qualified for the NCAA Tournament and now 10 of Johnson's 11 teams have won at least 20 matches. A closer look reveals some astounding numbers that highlight the incredible success Johnson has been a part of with the Panthers. In her 11 seasons in Milwaukee as a head coach and assistant, UWM has compiled a 252-73 overall record. That number includes a 133-15 mark in Horizon League play and a 117-13 record in home matches. Plus, the Panthers have won 68 of their 73 home league matches with Johnson on the bench. Johnson is quick to point out the success of the Panthers in her role as head coach is because of plenty of help. Her staff of former Panther Lindsey Vanden Berg and former Ball State standout Evan Berg each return for their second seasons with Johnson. For Vanden Berg, it is her fourth season as an assistant in Milwaukee after an All-American playing career. "It is great because they have been here for a year now with me and they know me even better than they did when we started," Johnson said. "We work very well together and we all bring different things. We know what each other is going to do and over the summer it has been very relaxed because we have a hold on recruiting, we have a hold on preparing for the upcoming season and we have a hold on camps, which went very well this year. We are very lucky to have both of them and I think the team is very lucky to have such a strong staff of assistant coaches who is positive and compliments each other very well." Johnson's move into the head coaching position has given her the opportunity to continue her work in the recruitment and development of the talent that has kept the Panthers on top of the Horizon League. Her efforts on the recruiting trail have led to five League Newcomers of the Year during her tenure, with Leanne Felsing (2004) and Becky Peters (2005) the most-recent UWM honorees. Plus, 12 Panther players have earned a spot on the league's all-newcomer team in the last 11 years, including Natalie Schmitting and Maddie Sueppel this past season. Panther players have then consistently developed into the best players in the Horizon League. In her 11 seasons in Milwaukee, Johnson has coached seven League Players of the Year, with Leanne Felsing earning those accolades in 2007 after Cheryl Hegemann claimed those honors in 2006. In all, players have earned all-league honors 34 times under the direction of Johnson. The recognition for Panther players has extended far beyond the Horizon League, though. With Johnson's assistance, UWM players have earned AVCA All-America honors six times, with Felsing receiving recognition each of the last two seasons. And, Panther players have earned AVCA All-Region honors 16 times in the 11 seasons Johnson has been in Milwaukee. Johnson's background as a player was at setter, where she earned All-Big Sky and All-Northwest Region honors while at Idaho State. She has used that experience to develop a long line of successful setters, with Katie Schneider collecting all-league honors three times, Lindsey Spoden earning 2000 Midwest Region Freshman of the Year honors and 2003 Horizon League Player of the Year honors and Melissa Lange claiming all-league honors twice. In fact, each of the 10 entries on UWM's single-season assist record list have come during Johnson's tenure in Milwaukee. Johnson was also a two-time Academic All-Big Sky honoree and has helped direct the UWM volleyball team to great success in the classroom. The team has been regularly honored by the American Volleyball Coaches' Association for its grade-point average while Hegemann earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in 2006. Plus, Felsing earned academic all-district honors in 2007 A native of Racine, Wis., Johnson joined the Panther staff in July of 1997 after serving as an assistant coach at Indiana State for two seasons. Johnson also worked at Idaho State and served as head coach at UW-Parkside for two years. She earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education, physical education and health from Idaho State, where she was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003. She also completed her master's degree in physical education-adult fitness from Indiana State in December of 1999. Johnson lives in Racine with her husband, C.J., son Ty, daughter Josie and stepson Brody.
Johnson At UWM
Johnson as a player |
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