Steve Johnson played it all as a kid--baseball, basketball and football. He even played college football at Wartburg College, a Division III school in Waverly, Iowa.
But you won't find Johnson on the football field anymore. Now, Johnson is only interested in diamonds--softball diamonds.
"I got into fast pitch because my girlfriend at the time played, and I just started following it," Johnson said. "I was kind of burnt out by baseball and kind of turned off by not being able to play anymore. I just started following her game and fell in love with it and decided to make a career of it."
Johnson, an Iowa native, had intentions of being a multidimensional coach and teacher.
"I was going into education to coach football and softball and was a high school coach for four years," he said. "When I was at Kennedy (High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa) I had an opportunity to go to college on the softball side. From a football perspective, I just didn't have the connections to get a college job."
Johnson said he thought there would be more job security coaching softball.
"I thought there'd be at least less moving around," Johnson said. "Then four jobs later, here I am in Auburn."
Before coming to the Plains, Johnson was head coach at UNC-Pembroke and eventually led his team to a Peach Belt Conference championship.
"No one expected anything from Pembroke," Johnson said. "We went 17-1 in the conference and finished as high as fifth in the country."
This wasn't the first time Johnson and his team forced their way onto the national radar.
"My third year coaching high school, we lost a lot of kids to injury and graduation, and no one expected anything of us there," Johnson said. "We stuck together as a team and made it to the state tournament that year. Those are probably two of the biggest accomplishments, and hopefully we add to it this year."
After coaching at Pembroke for four years, Johnson made his way down to the Loveliest Village on the Plains.
"I actually knew (head coach Tina Deese) because I interviewed for a job and always stayed in contact with her," Johnson said. "When the job came open, it happened that we had just won the conference title at the school I was at, so it kind of worked out. We actually called each other on the same day."
Johnson and his wife of almost four years, Heather, have been a part of the Auburn family ever since.
"I love working with Coach Deese," Johnson said. "I have a lot of input in the program."
As a coach, Johnson said he wants his players to be the best people they can be, on and off the field.
"We take these girls from living with their parents and mold them through sports to become better in society and better athletes," Johnson said.
"When they graduate the goal is for them to be productive members of society."
Johnson's dedication to his team is obvious to his players.
"He's very intense and very into the game," said Morgan Estell, freshman first baseman and outfielder. "He knows what he is talking about and gets into it."
Junior catcher Elizabeth Eisterhold said Johnson will review film before games whenever they ask.
"He is high energy and willing to work with us whenever we need help," Eisterhold said. "He is just really enthusiastic."
Johnson is also enthusiastic about his life here in Auburn.
"We love it here-- it's just fantastic," Johnson said. "The family setting, the support that the town gives the University--just everything that makes it great is what we love about it here."
Off the diamond, Johnson likes to spend free time with his wife and their dogs: two Pomeranians, Gabby and Kenzie, and a rescue dog, Wrigley, an English pointer.
Cooking is a favorite past time of the couple--their current favorite recipes including grilled pizza and barbecue nachos.
"My wife loves it here," Johnson said. "I think she'd kill me if I tried to move right now. We would love to be at Auburn for as long as we can stay here."
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