High School a Time for Plays of All Kinds
April 2, 2015
By Jack Roberts
MHSAA executive director
At end of season or school year banquets attended by student-athletes and their parents, I often tell this short story about my mother that never fails to get a good laugh, especially from mothers:
“At the end of my junior year of high school I attended the graduation ceremony for the senior class on a hot and humid early June evening in our stuffy high school gymnasium. The bleachers on each side were filled to capacity, as were several hundred folding chairs placed on the gymnasium floor.
“The public address system, which was wonderful for announcing at basketball games or wrestling meets, was awful for graduation speeches. Person after person spoke, and the huge audience wondered what they had to say.
“I was present because I was the junior class president; and as part of the ceremony, the senior class president handed me a small shovel. It had something to do with accepting responsibility or carrying on tradition.
“In any event, the senior class president spoke briefly; and then it was my turn. I stepped to the podium, pushed the microphone to the side, and spoke in a voice that was heard and understood in every corner of the gymnasium.
“Whereupon my mother, sitting in one of the folding chairs, positioned right in front of my basketball coach – who had benched me for staying out too late on the night before a game, because I had to attend a required school play rehearsal – my mother turned around, pointed her finger at the coach and said, ‘See there? That’s what he learned at play practice!’
“And she was heard in every corner of the gymnasium too.
“But my mother knew – she just knew – that for me, play practice was as important as basketball practice. And she was absolutely correct.”
This old but true story about in-season demands of school sports actually raises two of the key issues of the debate about out-of-season coaching rules.
One is that we are not talking only about sports. School policies should not only protect and promote opportunities for students to participate in more than one sport; they should also allow for opportunities for students to participate in the non-athletic activities that comprehensive, full-service schools provide.
This is because surveys consistently link student achievement in school as well as success in later life with participation in both the athletic and non-athletic activities of schools. Proper policies permit students time to study, time to practice and play sports and time to be engaged in other school activities that provide opportunities to learn and grow as human beings.
A second issue the story presents is that parents have opinions about what is best for their children. In fact, they feel even more entitled to express those opinions today than my mother did almost 50 years ago. In fact, today, parents believe they are uniquely entitled to make the decisions that affect their children. And often they take the attitude that everyone else should butt out of their business!
The MHSAA knows from direct experience that while school administrators want tighter controls on what coaches and students do out of season, and that most student-athletes and coaches will at least tolerate the imposed limits, parents will be highly and emotionally critical of rules that interfere with how they raise their children.
No matter the cost in time or money to join elite teams, take private lessons, travel to far-away practices and further-away tournaments, no matter how unlikely any of this provides the college athletic scholarship return on investment that parents foolishly pursue, those parents believe they have every right to raise their own children their own way and that it’s not the MHSAA’s business to interfere.
It is for this very reason that MHSAA rules have little to say about what students can and can’t do out of season. Instead, the rules advise member schools and their employees what schools themselves have agreed should be the limits. The rules do this to promote competitive balance. They do this in order to avoid never-ending escalating expense of time and money to keep up on the competitive playing field, court, pool, etc.
Every example we have of organized competitive sports is that, in the absence of limits, some people push the boundaries as far as they can for their advantage, which forces other people to go beyond what they believe is right in order to keep up.
If, during the discussions on out-of-season rules, someone suggests that certain policies be eliminated, thinking people will pause to ask what life would be like without those rules.
Our outcome cannot be mere elimination of regulation, which invites chaos; the objective must be shaping a different future.
A good start would be simpler, more understandable and enforceable rules. A bad ending would be if it forces more student-athletes and school coaches to focus on a single sport year-round.
Johnston Retires as Winningest Coach, Much More to Beaverton Dream He Built
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 15, 2024
Before Roy Johnston left the court that bears his name for the final time as Beaverton head boys basketball coach on Feb. 23, 1,500-plus fans, family and current and former players had one more chant.
It wasn’t the name of the coach they all adored after he wrapped up the winningest career in MHSAA basketball history. It wasn’t even the school song, or a slogan.
With Johnston pumping a raised fist, the community chanted “Judy” to honor his wife, who could not be at the game or celebration as she was battling cancer.
It was a fitting tribute to the woman behind the coach who became more than the face of the community, and one last opportunity for those fans to say thank you to her for her own efforts and sacrifices in helping the Beaverton become something pulled straight from the movie screen – the small-town sports tale complete with the iconic coach in the lead role and generations of locals living their dedication by filling the stands for every game.
Judy Johnston passed away this past Saturday, a little more than two weeks after the ceremony that honored her husband. She was 81.
All interviews for this story were completed prior to her passing, but a common theme when talking about Johnston’s 50-year career and importance to Beaverton was that the entire family, specifically Judy, had played a big role.
“His family has put forth an incredible amount of effort into our community,” said former player Brent Mishler. “In basketball and in general.”
Family is at the center of Johnston and Beaverton’s immense success over his 50 years. Not only has he coached multiple generations of several Beaverton families – including three generations of Mishlers – but he’s coached his own children, and grandchildren.
Small town programs often rely on players who have grown up around them and together, and Beaverton has that in spades.
“It was a dream,” former player and Johnston’s co-coach, Shad Woodruff, said of having his son Layk play for Johnston. “I got to play for Roy and be part of all that Beaverton basketball is – it’s not just a sport around here. We have video of (Layk) dribbling a basketball in the gym literally before he could walk. He’s been the little guy that always looked up to (Roy’s grandsons) Spencer Johnston and Carter Johnston, so just to be a part of Beaverton basketball is special.
“It’s like when your kid gets there, you’re giving your kid to the community for a while and saying, ‘Here you go.’ It’s amazing to watch your son out there, especially in a community like ours. Roy has created this thing with Beaverton basketball where every Friday night, it’s like church. Everybody’s there.”
The numbers behind Johnston’s career, which started in 1966 in Yale, are remarkable. He holds the MHSAA record for wins by a boys basketball coach at 833, the vast majority coming at Beaverton, the program he took over in 1974.
The Beavers won 21 conference titles, 17 District titles and five Regional titles during Johnston’s 50 years, adding a run to the MHSAA Semifinals in 1984.
Just six of Johnston’s seasons ended in records below .500, and in a fitting tribute to their coach, this year’s Beavers scratched and clawed their way to a five-game win streak at the end of the season to ensure his last wouldn’t be No. 7, finishing the year 12-12 with a loss to Beal City in the District Final.
Included in that streak was a 54-45 victory over rival Gladwin on the night Johnston was honored. The Beavers trailed by as many as nine during the second half before rallying to win, led by a 26-rebound performance from 6-foot, 1½-inch senior Reese Longstreth, who Woodruff called the epitome of a Beaverton basketball player.
“I’ve been fortunate to be around Roy for 40 years, and I’ve seen a lot of great wins, especially in that gym,” Woodruff said. “I can’t put anything above that one.”
Layk Woodruff made the final basket in the game, which will forever be the final basket made in Roy F. Johnston Gymnasium during the Johnston era.
“It was super emotional, I’d say, for a bunch of reasons,” Layk Woodruff said of the game. “We felt like it was our responsibility, we had to that game for Roy. It was a rivalry game, last home game of the year – there were a lot of emotions when that game ended. I didn’t even think about (hitting the final shot) until a couple days later. Now that I get to think about it, it’s pretty cool to say that was me. I’ll always remember that.”
One celebration led to another, as Johnston’s retirement ceremony followed the game. A tribute video created by Beaverton graduate Jason Brown, who owns a digital media company, and narrated by longtime Beaverton public address announcer Scott Govitz was played. Govitz admitted to getting choked up at times while recording the video.
“There were a couple times where I did more than one take,” he said.
Govitz was at the center of a massive effort to create the ceremony, with support from athletic director Will Gaudard, school staff and members of the community, including multiple businesses and organizations. Govitz had arranged for special lighting and video screens for the presentation. Special tickets were printed for the night – which also happened to be Beaverton’s Hall of Fame night. Following the video, a spotlight was shone on center court, where a single chair sat, one of Johnston’s vintage red blazers draped over its back.
The more than 100 former players who had come to celebrate their coach each had a glow stick they cracked on, and walked through the darkness to surround the chair.
Then Johnston walked the red carpet – much like his starters have for years when being introduced prior to games – and addressed the crowd.
He didn’t speak for long, but as Johnston so often does, he hit all the right notes, mixing gratitude with humor.
“Gladwin County is a great place to raise a good family,” Johnston said after thanking the traveling contingent from Gladwin.
“I want to thank everyone for a great run. Fifty years. A great run.”
For outsiders, it was a chance to see the softer side of Johnston rather than the man intensely patrolling the sidelines during games. It was a glimpse at the man that handed out suckers before games to every kid in attendance.
“He belonged on an episode of ‘Grumpy Old Men,’ and he still could play the role,” Govitz said with a laugh. “He would always say, ‘Don’t listen to the way I say it, listen to what I say.’ He just wants you to do things correctly. His players, maybe they didn’t adore it at the time, but they adore it now. Being a part of that program taught them more than basketball skills. … What will happen, once they leave, they find that great respect for it. And, he does things quietly that no one ever knows or sees – helping someone in need, especially the ones in college, checking up on them or sending them some money. That helps build a program and build relationships. He said in his last speech that it’s about getting along with others. If you can’t get along well with others, you can’t get along. That’s what it’s about.”
Mishler echoed that sentiment, and some of the memories that stick out most to the 2002 graduate were when Johnston got after him in his own special way.
“Playing for him was a privilege,” said Mishler, whose father Steve played for Johnston in the ’70s, and his son Cameron played through 2021. “The life lessons he taught set you up for success in life for the future. ‘You need to hear what I’m saying, not the method I’m saying it.’ That’s so true. Being honest and having expectations, and expecting people to hit those expectations, is not a bad thing.”
After Johnston was done speaking, he knelt down and kissed the floor to say goodbye to the job he’s done for most of his life, and in a way, thank you, to the community he helped create and that he’ll now need more than ever.
“Roy’s good at making you feel like he’s not big on that stuff (being recognized), and he isn’t, but he definitely does appreciate it,” Shad Woodruff said. “He understands how important he is to the community, and that he’s done something really special. He understands what he’s done is a pretty big feat, but he doesn’t talk about it. He doesn’t brag about it.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Beaverton boys basketball coach Roy Johnston kisses the court that bears his name during a celebration of his retirement Feb. 23. (Middle) This season’s team stands at the entrance to town with signs announcing the program and coach’s successes. (Below) Johnston takes a photo with three generations of Mishlers – Cameron, Brent and Steve. (Top photo by Stephanie Johnston.)