‘Huge shoes to fill’: Fredonia tennis coach Johnston to retire
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After 19 years of service -- both on the court and off it -- Fredonia's beloved tennis coach and physical education teacher Lisa Johnston is calling this year her last.
At a recent Board of Education meeting, Johnston's letter of resignation for the purpose of retirement was accepted with regret from the board.
"I don't know if we really ought to approve this. We shouldn't let the good ones get away," Fredonia Board of Education President Brian Aldrich joked.
Shortly after the letter of resignation was accepted, Johnston's appointment as the boys tennis coach was approved for one final season.
"She is a very positive person in the district, a true advocate for physical education," said Fredonia Superintendent Brad Zilliox. "She will absolutely be missed."
As a former tennis star herself, Johnston is not just any other coach and teacher. She is just as heralded off the court as she was on it.
"Lisa has just been amazing. She's a teacher that kids go out of their way to comment positively about to me," said Fredonia High School Principal Darrin Paschke. "They say things like 'she cares about us.' ... The kids appreciate all that she does for them, and I certainly appreciate that she keeps our kids first-place all the time."
Growing up in Australia, Johnston was a nationally ranked junior tennis star. She was one of three girls chosen as a state representative for the national juniors' club team. Among the three male representatives at the time included a future US Open champion, Darren Cahill, who also is a commentator for ESPN. Johnston was also club teammates with an eventual No. 1 ranked doubles player in the world, Mark Woodforde, who won 12 Grand Slam titles including six Wimbledon titles with teammate Todd Woodbridge.
But Johnston chose a different path, one that led her to Fredonia. She met her husband, Steve Johnston, at a tennis tournament when she was a junior in college. Steve was in Australia as part of a Foreign Exchange Program as an instructor with Brocton Central School. Steve returned home to continue his work at Brocton, and Lisa followed him to the US to finish her collegiate experience as a student athlete at Youngstown State. In her time there, she was ranked as the team's top singles player.
The couple traveled back and forth in six-year increments from Australia and the US, as Steve worked teaching jobs at Brocton, Falconer, and eventually Chautauqua Lake, with stops at Prince Alfred College in Australia in between. In 2003, Lisa and Steve decided to make Fredonia their permanent home to raise their four children.
"If it wasn't for this hire 19 years ago, we would not be here – we would be in Australia," Steve Johnston said. "She has loved this district."
After finishing out the school year as a teacher and serving her final year as the school's boys tennis coach this spring, Lisa will join Steve in retirement to focus on spending time with their four children and two grandchildren. They also plan to travel back to Australia more frequently to visit with Lisa's family back home, along with other travel destinations on the horizon, as well.
"Those are huge shoes to fill," Paschke said. "We're going to miss her tremendously. She has just been a fantastic part of our Fredonia family."