Elliott Johnson was Trevecca's second
baseball coach. He led the program for 11 seasons (1980-90) with a 330-152-7
overall record-winning 68% of his games. He was named the coach of the year
four times during his tenure.
In conference play his teams had a 71%
winning percentage (140-57-1) while winning or sharing the conference title in
five of his 11 seasons. All but one of his 11 teams posted at least 20 wins;
every season was a winning season.
He had ten 20-win teams, six 30-win teams,
and the school's first 40-win team. Eight of his teams reached the NAIA
District-24 Tournament. The 1982 and 1989 teams won the tournament and advanced
to the NAIA Area-5 Tournament.
The 40-win team was in 1989 when his Trojans
posted a 40-17 record while winning the NAIA District-24 championship and
finished ranked No. 8 in the NAIA. His Trevecca teams gave him the 15th best
NAIA winning percentage during the 1980s
In his first season his Trojans produced a
25-8 record and were the Volunteer State Athletic Conference Western Division
and overall VSAC Champions. Each of his final five seasons produced at least 31
wins.
Seven of his players were NAIA All-Americans,
and four were first team selections. He had two NAIA Scholar-Athletes, a
District-24 Player of the Year, and a NAIA Area-5 Player of the Year. He had 14
players make the NAIA District-24 team with four of those named to the NAIA
Area-5 team. In his time at Trevecca, 22 Trojans named All-Conference (VSAC or
TCAC), and six of his former players are already in the Trevecca Athletic Hall
of Fame.
After leaving Trevecca, Coach Johnson coached
at LeTourneau and Olivet
Nazarene University,
and he now serves as head coach at Southern Nazarene University. He coached for
one season at Taylor
University prior to
succeeding Bill Green at Trevecca in 1980.
Johnson will begin his 29th season as a
collegiate coach next season. He has a overall record of 873-454 and has
coached 1340 games.
In 2008 the Fellowship of Christian Athletes
(FCA) awarded Johnson the Jerry Kindall Character in Coach Award.
His teams have appeared in 18 NAIA District
or Regional Tournaments, winning eleven conference, district, or national
titles. He has been named coach of the year six times
He assisted at Middle Tennessee
State University
where he earned a doctorate in physical education. The MTSU team won the Ohio
Valley Conference Championship.
At Olivet, his Tigers won one NCCAA National
Championship (2000) and four regular season Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic
Conference Championships (2000, 2001, 2003, 2004), and had two NAIA World
Series appearances (2002, 2003). Current Tampa Bay Ray All-Star Ben Zobrist
played for Johnson three years at Olivet.
He has had two successful seasons at Southern
Nazarene University, finishing 37-15 last year.
Johnson was an all-conference pitcher and
shortstop as a collegian. He attended Trinity
College and earned a B.A. from the University of Northern
Colorado and an M.A. from Chadron State College (Neb.).
Dr. Johnson is especially interested in youth
baseball; his master's thesis included research on the motivation of boys at
three age levels, and his doctoral dissertation researched the philosophy of a
sound youth baseball program. His video "The Building of a Baseball Player" is
required viewing by the National Youth Sports Coaches Association and by Kids
Sports Network for certification of youth baseball coaches. He has produced a
total of six videos on coaching techniques and player development.
Coach Johnson has worked for the Doyle
Brothers Baseball Camp in Florida
and has instructed hundreds of kids at his own camps and clinics. He is active
in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), AIA, and other sports
ministries. He also has written 25 inspirational books and numerous baseball
articles and is a frequent speaker for a variety of groups. Coach Johnson's Stride
Guide is a top seller as a baseball training aid for hitters. It has been
marketed by the Schutt Company for a number of years.
Johnson has been married for 39 years to Judy
Johnson, who teaches kindergarten. Sons Todd and Ben played for their father at
LeTourneau University. Like father, like son: After
many years coaching for Athletes in Action and on the college level, Todd
directs FCA at the University
of Mississippi. Ben is
area director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Waco, Texas.
After Graduation
Trojan Hall of Fame
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Trevecca Nazarene
University is pleased to announce its 2011 Athletic Hall of Fame Class.
Michelle Arend Plummer, Lindsey Fly Strickland, Jami Toomey Warren, and
Mauricio Azevedo Dos Santos will be inducted during Trevecca's annual Homecoming
weekend on Saturday, November 5.
This year's class has a multi-sport
flair, with volleyball (Plummer), basketball (Strickland), softball (Warren),
and soccer (Dos Santos) represented. The selection of Dos Santos marks
the first time a soccer player has been inducted into the Trevecca Athletic Hall of Fame.
Plummer is the fourth volleyball
player to be introduced and the first since 1999 when Brenda Steen Gray was
chosen for the Hall of Fame. Others selected in the sport of volleyball are
Allison Hendershot Stark and Carol Ernest Schneidmiller.
Fly is the fifth to be chosen in women's basketball. She joins fellow women's basketball honorees Carol
Ernest Schneidmiller, Hilary Howard Montgomery, Molly Schoenberg Harned, and
Jennifer Wilson in the Hall of Fame.
Warren is the third softball player
to be selected for the Hall of Fame. She joins Brandy Barnett Brown and Wendy
Allen Apanco as softball players in the TNU Athletic Hall of Fame.
With these inductions, 51
individuals are now members of the Trevecca Athletic Hall of Fame. Begun in
1993, the Athletic Hall of Fame honors individuals who have made outstanding
contributions within the Trevecca intercollegiate athletic program, which
started in 1969.
All four of the 2011 members have
agreed to be on hand for induction into the Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday,
November 5, 2011. The official presentation and induction will take place
during halftime of the women's Homecoming basketball game in Moore Gym.
Both Trojan basketball teams will
open regular season play at Homecoming. The women's team will host Point Loma
Nazarene at 3:00, and the men will host Michigan-Dearborn at 5:00 p.m. The Hall
of Fame Induction will occur Saturday shortly after the first half of the
women's basketball game.