More than a decade after coaching his final game for the Stillwater boys soccer team, Phil Johnson is being recognized once again with his upcoming induction into the Minnesota State High School League Hall of Fame.
The popular coach will become just the sixth Stillwater coach to enter the MSHSL Hall of Fame, a list that also includes Len McGuire (1994 induction), James Graupner (1997), Bill Simpson (2004), George Thole (2013) and Brian Luke (2022).
Johnson is part of an esteemed 12-member class that also includes Jill Lofald of Duluth (fine arts), Mike Bialka of Brainerd (contributor), Jon Springer of Zumbrota (official), Brady Johnson of Rochester (administrator), Scott Larson of Burnsville (administrator), Rita Rislund of Detroit Lakes (administrator), Dave Nelson of Chanhassen (coach) and athletes Trevor Laws of Apple Valley, Holly Manthei of Burnsville, Chris Weinke of Cretin-Derham Hall, and Lindsay Whalen of Hutchinson.
Johnson said he was flattered with the unexpected recognition.
“I was surprised,” Johnson said. “That sobers you up real quickly. I had not heard of any inkling of it until (the MSHSL) contacted me. In all these year I’ve never really thought about it.
“I haven’t totally eliminated soccer from my interests in life, but I wasn’t expecting it. It’s a great honor to be in the particular group that is going to be recognized.”
This year’s class joins a list of 239 previous inductees who have been honored for “service and excellence” in one of six categories dating back to 1991. The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Sunday, April 14 at the InterContinental St. Paul Riverfront Hotel.
Johnson built the Stillwater program into one of the state’s most consistent winners during his 32 seasons as head coach, but patience was required. Johnson served as an assistant for four seasons before taking over as head coach in 1981.
The Ponies combined for an 11-36-2 record in his first three seasons, but the program ascended to 12-8-1 in 1984 and did not endure a losing season in the remainder of his career at the helm.
Even with the early struggles, Johnson’s teams compiled a 451-156-64 record with 17 conference titles and 16 section championships — including back-to-back state titles in 1995 and 1996.
Johnson is already a member of the Minnesota State High School Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame (1997), the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association Hall of Fame (2013), and the St. Croix Valley Sports Hall of Fame (2017). He was also presented the Tony Sanneh Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.
Johnson coached three players who were named Mr. Soccer in Minnesota, including Marshall Morehead (1996), Dana Kurttila (1997) and Dan Horst (2002). Johnson was honored as the MSHSSCA Minnesota State Coach of the Year in 1996 and 2012, and was named the National High School Large School Coach of the Year in 1997.
But building a winning program was a process and there was plenty of self reflection early on, the coach suggested.
“I was just an ordinary coach with a passion to win, so how do I do that without taking my mind off the end results,” Johnson said. “That’s what I worked at is what is development and positive attitude. There are times I had to be tough on some of the guys because they didn’t like the results and were thinking of the end of the game rather than going back to fix what you don’t like. You can’t run away from things.
“One of the things I learned as a high school player is that you can’t run away from the bad, you have to do something about it. Bad result or bad performance? As a coach, you have less power in the games, you just hope those messages that have gotten through and it shows the grit of the players.”
That contemplation resulted in the changes that helped Johnson and the program turn the corner.
“When it made a difference in my heart and my beliefs, it started making a difference on the field,” Johnson said. “It was up to me to interpret and promote language the players could understand and grab onto and them taking ownership.
“It also bought into something that took me a while to apply to myself — what can you control, what can’t you control. I switched over from you must win, to the process, and that’s where my words with players and throughout the program was. That’s a process, but can we educate ourselves and do better? Can we collectively put our energy towards a set process of training and can we do that and reap the benefits if it’s all to work out that winning be one of those things which we strive to do through this process. That was the change of who I was as a coach when I saw the fallacy of my type of coaching and the gotta win, gotta win.”
It was a big step when Stillwater qualified for its first state tournament in 1985.
“It didn’t seem like we were at the level of the then conference so I had to bottle down how do we defend,” Johnson said. “That was my biggest toiling in developing teams that could defend and we gradually reduced the goal difference between our team and the other team. The year we made it into the state tournament, it was a collection of really good players and good athletes and one of the keys there was Tony Scheuerman, who was our first All-American.”
A winning tradition followed, and Johnson also credits the contributions and loyalty from assistant coaches like Ron Stow, Brad Pederson and John Johnson, who spent a combined 77 seasons and provided enviable continuity within the program.
“One of the things that benefits me was these great coaches I got to work with,” Johnson said, who was also an elementary teacher in the Stillwater district for 35 years. “My assistant coaches and the highs and lows all the way through. There’s no question we had more than our fair share of opportunities in the state tournament, it was almost every-other year. It was great.
“I just don’t know how to say it, but we also really got a great boost from the St. Croix Soccer Club so I had players to choose from and my job was to blend them together and I think I did a pretty good job of that.”
Stillwater produced a 62-game unbeaten streak that started in 1995 and continued well into the 1997 season. The Ponies won 40 consecutive games during that stretch, which was a state record until Apple Valley surpassed it with 48 wins in a row from 2009 to 2011. The Ponies were even ranked No. 1 in the country in 1997.
In addition to the many steps along the way, the big moments still resonate with Johnson. He recalled that memorable fall season of 1995 when the Stillwater boys soccer, boys cross-country, and football teams each finished undefeated seasons with state championships.
“Of course the state tournament victories and winning the state championships stand out,” Johnson said. “The first one was Marshall Morehead saving the ball from the line and Nick Magnuson heading it to the feet of Bobby de St. Aubin and slotting it past the keeper over St. Paul Academy in sudden-death overtime. That was the beginning of a team that just wouldn’t lose. We went on that long streak of winning games that whole next season and won everything and started the next year as No. 1 in the nation. That was lofty recognition and lots of expectations by those players and me focusing not on the result, but more process.”
After stepping away from the Ponies, Johnson continued his work with the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association and has also worked with young players, coaches and parents in the Woodbury Soccer Club.
One of the things he enjoys is seeing the children of his former players and the traits they sometimes share.
“It’s so wonderful, and Facebook does a lot, but when I run into them at a sporting event it’s so amazing these players who I knew going through learning as a 16- or 17-year old and now they’re coaching their kids,” Johnson said. “There is a lot of satisfaction I have just sitting back and seeing that Jimmy has a kid just like Jimmy was, or whoever it is, and they’re dealing with the same stubborness or whatever. That’s the pattern of life, and boy is that joyful for me.”
Contact Stuart Groskreutz at stuart.groskreutz@apgecm.com
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