While accomplishments on the field are legendary, what former Lakeland Christian School soccer coach Dean Johnson accomplished off the field defined him.

On the field, Johnson is one of the state’s legendary soccer coaches, with six state titles and more than 700 wins to his name. Off the field, Johnson’s meticulous attention to detail in anything he touched translated to his tirelessly mentoring students, helping the less fortunate and selflessly lending his time to others.

“If a widow from church had a leaking faucet, they knew who to call,” said Johnson’s daughter, Bethany Thomas. “He was always like that.”

Dean Johnson passed away in 2018 after a brief illness. He was 67.

Born in Lapeer, Mich., a mere 20 miles from Flint, Johnson was the middle child of Swedish immigrants. While his mother worked as nurse, his father worked as a woodshop teacher at a nearby school for the deaf.

“Dad never played soccer as a kid,” said his daughter Bethany. “Basketball was his passion.”

A family strong in their faith, Johnson attended Baptist Bible College in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania.

“One summer, his mother took at trip back to Sweeden and Dean took over her Sunday School Classes,” said his widow, Jill, whose first memories of Dean are during those classes.

It was years later when, after marrying Jill, Johnson took a teaching position at Lakeland Christian in 1973.

“We wanted to get out of the cold,” said Jill. “And he wanted to coach. They started him off with JV basketball and baseball.”

It was 1979 when Johnson took over the school’s soccer program, then in its third year. He’d go on to also serve as the varsity boys golf coach from 1983 to 1998. Under Johnson, the LCS Boys Soccer went 526-97-28 with 24 district titles and 10 regional titles, winning state titles six times, the last coming in 2002.

“They needed a soccer coach, and Dean stepped up,” said Jill. “He knew nothing about the game. I went to the games and helped out – I wanted to be with him. And when the kids came along, they went as well. We’d ride the bus, and they grew up with his teams.”

Since boys soccer at the time was a fall sport, Johnson started the girls team during the 1994-95 season. Not only did the LCS girls compile a 180-46-17 record, they won six consecutive district titles including reaching the final four twice, losing in the state semifinals in 2004 and finishing state runner-up in 2000.

When Johnson started, he knew little about the sport of soccer.

“He learned as he went,” said Bethany. “Even until the last, he was immersed in coaching soccer. There was always a soccer ball under his feet, and a new book about coaching soccer on his desk. He was always trying to learn new drills, new techniques.”

But for Johnson, it was more than just X’s and O’s.

“It wasn’t just a game for him,” said his son, Ben Johnson. “He had a deep knowledge of the game, and he developed great players. But it was more about caring for the individuals, helping them to not just perform on the field, but become strong leaders of good character off the field. That’s what it meant for him.”

When boys soccer turned to a winter sport in 2004 – forcing Johnson to pick a team – the choice was easy.

“While he loved coaching the boys, he really enjoyed the challenge from the girls,” said his wife Jill. “Girls and boys are just different, and Dean enjoyed that. He enjoyed finding just the right piece to put in the right place. He wanted the girls to succeed, sure, but he wanted to teach them and pull the hidden talent out of them, too.”

Johnson’s attention to the game wasn’t just what happened on the field – it was the field itself.

“He wanted the best soccer experience possible for the kids,” said Jill. “So he set his mind to creating the best field possible. He befriended the guys at Tiger Town, learned from them, even got certified to treat the field with chemicals. We used to joke that we’d bury him under that field.”

For Johnson’s children, time spent with dad – whether driving to school together or tending to the field – was special.

“Dad would take us with him,” said Ben. “If he was painting the field, I’d be with him. We’d ride on the tractor while he mowed the grass. If he was going to work on a leaky faucet, I’d be under the sink with him.”

Even if it meant missing a little school time.

“We were about to have the state championships, and dad put tarps – borrowed from families around town – down on the field,” said Ben. “He took both of us out of our classes. We sat with shop vacs and sucked the field dry before the game.”

Retiring in 2007 after serving as an administrator at LCS while also teaching bible classes and mechanical drafting, he continued teaching part time while working as a design/build specialist at Green Construction Services. One of his favorite tasks was to design accessible homes for disabled veterans or modify existing homes.

“He’d even help the veterans apply for grants to help retrofit their houses,” said Bethany.

When Johnson stopped coaching at LCS, Florida Youth Soccer Association’s Olympic Development Program gave Johnson the opportunity to stay connected to the sport he loved. He coached with the Olympic Development Program and for the Lakeland Futbol Club, focusing on the younger ages.

“He liked starting with a team of girls and sticking with them until they aged out,” said his daughter, Bethany, who coached with him. “We’d start with the U8 team and stick with them until U14. The girls just loved him.”

And while being at a tournament might have been a problem for some, Johnson saw it as a team building opportunity.

“One Sundays, he’d have the girls sit on their soccer balls and we’d recite a Bible verse and explain it to them with a story,” she said. “It would always be fun. Parents would even gather around, and it became a bonding experience for all of us.”

The coaching legacy also continued with his son, Ben.

“In college, I looked at minors in coaching soccer, but that wasn’t my passion,” he said. “So I’ve coached 15 different seasons with a lot of different sports – swim, lacrosse, travel hockey and basketball with my church. All thanks to the background that dad blessed us with, pouring all that love into kids. That’s his real legacy there – all the kids.”