Assistant coach Gary Johnson is a man who has seen it all for the Bison women’s soccer team. For the past 14 years, he has dedicated himself to the welfare of the Bisons with a big smile on his face, even in times where the team faced a slew of uphill battles.
The women’s soccer program at the University of Manitoba were established on strong roots; a management team of Johnson and head athletic director Walt McKee kicked off their inauguration as a local league club. Both their daughters had been playing in the MSA youth leagues, and when it came time for them to attend university, and McKee and Johnson pondered if they could do the same at the post-secondary level. However, they had realized their foundations were weak, as Johnson recalls fondly. “The adversity was that we didn’t have any money – there wasn’t an advantage of being on the team. We knew we were going to be in the CIS in 2005, so we did a tour of Canada West and we got our butts beat pretty badly.” Said Johnson with a laugh.
Eventually through improvements in the recruitment process, home-grown talent came flooding and the Bisons were able to make a name for themselves in Canada West. In the midst of their glory days in the CIS, McKee was forced to retire due to health issues, causing a ripple effect in Bison management – the team have gone through three head coaches since 2012. When asked if Johnson had ever through about the head coaching position, he was very direct with his answer.
“No, never – I don’t have the qualifications and licenses and because I was older, I have no incentive to get it. If I had been 30 years younger, then yes I would get my coaching licenses. But I have to honest with myself, I’m a really good assistant coach.” Said Johnson, with another laugh.
