Johnston takes helm at GHS

BY BRUCE BRANUM

The Greenville Standard

 

Gary Johnston has taken the helm as the new head football coach of Greenville High School.

In high school, Johnston was a star athlete in football and baseball at Gulf Shores. He was given a full scholarship to play football at the University of West Alabama (UWA), where he was quarterback.

Johnston said his family was not wealthy growing up and that he was the first in his family to graduate high school, get a college scholarship, and also graduate college.

At UWA, he met his future wife, Chelsea. They have been married 11 years and two children, Summer who is two years old and Layken who is now seven months old.

His first job out of college was a year-long stint as offensive coordinator at Luverne High School, before deciding to move closer to home.

From Luverne, they moved to Citronelle where he coached for three years and saw the turnaround of a team go from winless to making the state playoffs.

His next coaching position was at the newly formed Elberta High School and then he coached at Foley High School as quarterback coach and then receiver’s coach.

He was there for six years and the last two were as offensive coordinator and assistant head coach.

He then decided he wanted to become a head coach and applied for the Greenville High School head coach position.

He noted that in the first few weeks after being hired, his team has shown a change in culture which is evident.

Johnston stated, “I told the players, we are going to build this the right way. We are going to build a family atmosphere and I want coaches who want to be great leaders.”

He plans to bring a few coaches to Greenville to help him revamp the program. Both have played college football and coached.

He added, “I’ve met the current staff and everybody has a chance to come back. They have been very helpful to me, but at the end of the day, I’m going to do what is best for the program and if that means find the right person to do the job.”

His coaching philosophy involves holding to the principles of DEA. He explained, “Great discipline in everything you do, great effort in everything you do, and great attitude in everything you do.”

He further explained that he wanted his coaches to have good communication, loyal to Greenville, initiative, and knowledge.

Johnston said he doesn’t necessarily believe in a balance run and passing attack. He believes that you work with what you have and get the ball to the best players.