HUDSON, NC (Novemeber 2, 2016)…As the son of a high school basketball coach, Ty Johnson grew up in the gym and always knew he’d end up coaching. After a season as the head coach of the girl’s basketball team at West Brunswick High School, Johnson landed his first job as a college head coach when he was hired to lead the Lady Cobras of Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute.
“I have a ton of respect for (Athletic Director) Coach Anderson and what he’s done here,” Johnson said. “This is probably one of the most supportive institutions I’ve seen for athletics.”
Hired in September, Johnson has had little time to adjust to his new surroundings and a new team, made up of mostly true freshmen. The Lady Cobras opened the season on Nov. 1 with a loss 71-45 to Denmark Tech, but Johnson expects to see success as the season continues.
“With the way we play and how hard we play, I’m excited to see how we do,” Johnson said. “I feel like we’re going to play harder and work harder than any other team.”
Johnson said the Lady Cobras are a defensive-minded team and exciting to watch.
“We’re going to lock teams down and guard them,” he said, adding that his defenders will focus on causing turnovers. “We want our offense to come from our defense.”
Still relatively new to coaching, Johnson brings experience as a player at all levels of the game. He was a standout at North Wilkes and North Iredell high schools, and excelled at Warren Wilson College where he was a member of the 2013 Division II National Championship team and a runner-up nominee for National Player of the Year. His playing career also included a spot on the ACC Barnstorming Tour and time as a professional with the UBA’s Carolina Cougars.
Johnson, who is married to Kassidi Johnson, considers his new job coaching at CCC&TI to be a homecoming of sorts.
“I grew up playing Hibriten and West Caldwell,” he said. “I love being back home and I love recruiting back home.”
Here is the link to the women’s basketball roster and schedule:
http://www.cccti.edu/GoCobras/Default.asp#page=page-3