New coach building soccer program on ‘unity’

The Mountain Brook High School girls soccer team is using what it has been through the last few seasons as a learning and unifying experience, as the Spartans look to finish the 2017 season strong.

Mountain Brook has its third coach in as many years in Adam Johnson, but he came in as a familiar face to many as a longtime teacher at Mountain Brook Junior High and past assistant with the program.

The coaching situation forced the players to look to themselves to provide the necessary stability in years past.

“The program was going through a coaching change, so they really had to rely on the leadership within the team in order to find success,” Johnson said of last year’s team. “Their biggest success was coming together as a unit and proving to themselves they had the work ethic, talent and desire to compete in every match.”

After going through that, the hope is the product of what was forged in the fire will allow the Spartans the success they desire.

“There have been three coaches in three years for these players,” Johnson said. “This type of change has taught the girls the importance of building a cohesive unit and stressed the importance of team unity. Ultimately, it has helped the girls learn how to lead themselves and to work through adversity together.

Johnson’s belief is those lessons have allowed the Mountain Brook program to blossom into a unit, as the varsity and junior varsity programs intersect often and train together daily.

The Spartans had to replace a handful of quality players for the 2017 season, as Laney Smith and Nicole Strahl signed to play college soccer.

“They made an obvious impact on the field in every game they played, and off the field, too, because they also had a strong leadership style that helped the team face and overcome some of the adversities faced last year,” Johnson said.

Emily McClean and Adelaide Kimberly also graduated, and Johnson lauded their efforts to teach the “younger players so much about being selfless and putting the team first,” along with their consistent play.

With what those girls brought to the table, their impact is still strong on the current roster. Johnson looks to a handful of girls to help lead the team and does not feel pressured to rely on any one player to get the job done.

“Given the amount of leadership change these girls have experienced, there are a lot of girls who know how to lead and when to recognize the right time to lead, versus when is the right time to follow,” Johnson said. “The girls that we expect and lean on in order to help drive us forward have all stepped up and answered the call with complete enthusiasm and selflessness.”

Johnson’s buzzword for the season and the program is “unity.” It is the centerpiece of everything he has done since taking charge of the program, and is why he approached the preseason portion of the schedule differently than most teams.

“We spent most of the preseason time working to build a soccer program void of the unwritten hierarchy that is present in many organizations,” he said.

All of this work is in hope the Mountain Brook girls soccer program will be as strong as possible on the field.

“Our main objective is to be the most competitive team anyone will face, have the strongest bonds on and off the field, and to be the tightest formation anyone goes up against,” Johnson said.