VANCOUVER — Thirty years
later, Mark Johnson still wonders at times whether it really happened.
Was he really a part of what
is widely considered the greatest moment in U.S. Winter Olympics history? Did
he really score two goals for the U.S. hockey team against the juggernaut
Soviets in the semifinals at Lake Placid in 1980 en route to a stunning 4-3
victory? Did he really win a gold medal when Team USA beat Finland in the finals,
capping an unlikely run that captivated an entire nation?
“You’re not quite sure you
still believe it, even though it’s been 30 years,” Johnson said. “Generally
when the thought of it pops in your head, or you see a highlight or video, it
usually brings a smile to your face and makes you feel good that you were
involved in something that obviously was so special to so many people.”
This year in Vancouver,
Johnson returns to the Olympics for the first time since those magical moments —
this time, as the head coach of the U.S. women’s hockey team.
“It’s a different role,”
Johnson said. “It’s much more difficult and challenging to be a coach of one of
these teams than a player.”
Johnson, who was named to
the position about a year ago, has taken a sabbatical from his seven-year stint
as women’s hockey coach at the University of Wisconsin. The women have been
practicing, training, traveling and playing exhibition games since Aug. 18, and
Johnson said he’s ready for the competition in Vancouver’s Winter Olympics.
“Expectations are high
within our group,” Johnson said. “We’re taking a run at the gold medal.
Everybody within our locker room and our support staff knows and understands
the expectations.”
Photo by David G. McIntyre/Genesis Photos Mark Johnson, head coach of the U.S. women’s ice hockey team, leads his team to a 12-1 victory over China during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver at the UBC Thunder Bird Arena on Feb. 14. |
After his history-making
performance in the 1980 Olympics, Johnson spent 11 years in the NHL with
Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Hartford, St. Louis and New Jersey. It was during his
time with the New Jersey Devils in the mid-1980s when Johnson’s life took a new
direction. He had been married for a few years by this point and had a couple
of kids.
“I sort of came to the point
in my life where I was looking for some answers and had some questions,”
Johnson said.
Johnson and his wife Leslie
began attending an Athletes in Action Bible study with a group of players in
the New York area. After a period of three or four months of regular
attendance, Johnson said he and Leslie both came to the point where their
questions had been answered, and they placed their faith in Christ.
“It’s been a long, wonderful
journey since that point,” he said.
That’s not to say his life
has always been perfect or rosy. But his faith in Christ has provided what he
calls a “balancing point” that has kept him from getting too excited when
things are going well, or too depressed when life takes a turn for the worse.
“If you find that balancing
point — that I find with my relationship with the Lord — He’s able to keep me
even, whether things are going really well or things aren’t going well,”
Johnson said.
His commitment to Christ
also has a considerable influence on who he is as a man, a husband, a father
and a hockey coach. His hope is that his players see the evidence of that
commitment in his life — through his day-to-day consistency and through the
values and morals he holds in high esteem and tries to live out.
“I think as a coach and as a
leader, if you’re able to do that, it certainly sends a strong message,”
Johnson said. “You have to walk the talk. I think that is something that speaks
a lot louder than words do.”