By Gary Lloyd
TRUSSVILLE — A familiar face will lead the Hewitt-Trussville varsity softball team for the 2015 season.
Trussville City Schools Athletics Director Karen Johns was approved as the coach at a Trussville City Board of Education meeting last week.
Johns will still maintain all her duties as athletics director.
Johns said Superintendent Pattie Neill approached her about the position a few weeks ago. Johns agreed to coach the team.
Johns said the position “wasn’t really on my radar, wasn’t really in my mindset” until Neill approached her. She said she’s excited to coach the girls, who she knows well from spending time around softball practices, games and training.
“I love working with them,” Johns said. “We have an amazing group of athletes in that sport.”
Johns was the head softball coach for the U.S. Junior National Team that won gold in the 2011 Junior World Championships in Cape Town, South Africa.
From 2008 to 2009, Johns served as the associate executive director of the National Fast Pitch Coaches Association. She was a color commentator for ESPN in the same years.
She was the head softball coach at the University of Virginia from 2005 to 2007 and at the University of Florida from 2001 to 2005. She has assistant coaching experience at Mississippi State, for the U.S. Olympic team, the University of Alabama and the University of South Carolina.
Johns was a two-time All American at the University of South Carolina and a four-time gold medalist in international softball competition.
Johns replaces Dusti Roberts, who resigned from the Hewitt-Trussville head softball coaching position in May after three seasons. Over the past two seasons, the Lady Huskies have compiled a 71-28 record. The team won the area championship all of the past three seasons.
Hewitt-Trussville has a lot of talent coming back for the 2015 season. Catcher Taylor Beshears is an Arkansas verbal commitment, shortstop Maddie Dorsett is verbally committed to Mississippi State and Callie Shields is the team’s top pitcher.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.