Dribbling in his father's footsteps

Almost two decades after Horseman Royce Johnston put down his basketball and accepted his high school diploma, Johnston, 36, still holds Plains High School’s all-time record for most points scored in single game — 57, to be exact.

Johnston helped bring the Horsemen to four state tournaments, bagging a state title and two third-place finishes in the four years he played varsity. He also rocked the court on a college level for Montana-Western. He’s the current record-holder for most points scored in a Montana State Basketball Tournament. No one has matched his incredible score of 149 points in 18 years.

Now, Johnston is playing a different game. His records will have to come from the sidelines as he steps up to become Lake City High School’s new head girls basketball coach. Lake City, a 5A school located in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, won the state 5A championship in 2006 and is currently host to the 2006-07 Gatorade Idaho Girls’ Basketball player of the year, 6-foot-1 senior Katie Baker. According to Johnston, 5A is the highest classification in Idaho and the coaching program is very competitive.

“It’s a pretty tough job to get,” Johnston said.

Despite living in Idaho, Johnston hasn’t been a stranger to his hometown. He’s taught summer basketball camps in Plains and Coeur d’Alene for the past 10 years and said he loves coaching his girls.

“Coaching is the next best thing to playing yourself,” he said.

Coaching is especially important to him because basketball runs in the family. Johnston’s father, Bob, coached basketball at Plains high for 12 years, from 1981 to 1993, winning more than 300 games in the process.

Johnston did that coaching from a wheelchair, breaking his neck in a rodeo accident when Royce was just 6 months old.

“My dad took the head coaching job in Plains when he was 35 years old,” Royce Johnston said. “I’m 36, so it means a lot to me that this is happening now.”

Johnston claims his father taught him everything he knows, including his coaching philosophy, his work ethic and the pressure defense he said he wants to bring to his new team.

“When I look back, I always remember some of the things dad told me and it’s just a huge advantage as a coach to have that background,” he explained.

Johnston said he’s been coaching at Lake City’s junior varsity level for Lake City’s boys and girls for the past seven years and compiled a 228-54 record. Last year, the JV Timberwolves went 15-2.

When he’s off the court, Johnston teaches science at Woodland Middle School in Coeur d’Alene. He also squeezes in time to play with his newborn son, who was born June 10 of this year.

So what recommendations would Johnston offer to young players who want to go the distance in their basketball careers?

“You have to work hard, because there’s a lot of competition out there,” he said. “The more time you spend on court developing your skills, the more you can develop your basketball career.”

Johnston said moving to Coeur d’Alene opened his eyes to the competitive spirit in bigger cities. His varsity girls play about 60 games in the summer off-season alone — an opportunity many basketball players in small towns don’t have.

Since the girls have both the competitive edge and their youth, can Johnston keep up with them on the court?

“Oh yeah,” he said, laughing. “Definitely.”