Working under longtime Owensboro volleyball head coach Melissa Hibbs for the past five seasons, Mitchell Johnson has been a key part in the program turning into a local powerhouse and winning this year’s 3rd Region Championship. With the recent announcement of Hibbs’s resignation, Johnson has been named the team’s new head coach.
“It means a lot. It’s a lot of pressure, a little bit coming under Melissa, who was an amazing coach for many years,” Johnson said. “For me, it is an opportunity to continue to expand and grow. It is all about the family, we can connect here at Owensboro.”
This is Johnson’s first tenure as a head coach at the high school level, but he has experience coaching at the travel club level. The Lady Devils are losing multiple starters to graduation, but they have a young and solid core returning – the majority sophomores.
Having been with the program for five years, Johnson acknowledged that after Hibbs resigned, he didn’t want to see the team fall under anyone else.
“We’ve built those relationships with the girls, and I want to continue building that,” Johnson said. “Seeing through with what Melissa has already put forth and set up and go on from there.”
Hibbs took over as the Lady Devils’ coach in 2012 and spent 13 seasons as the head coach, which culminated in this year’s 3rd Region Championship. A mother to six kids, Hibbs acknowledged that she dealt with some mom guilt during the season, which led to her resigning.
After Hibbs resigned, she sat and spoke with Mitchell regarding if he wanted to take the next step and she told him she would always be in his corner.
“I believe Coach Mitchell is a great fit to lead the program,” Hibbs said. “After coming, he had the same high expectations for the girls, and I believe he will push the program with those expectations. Having those relationships already built with a lot of those girls is a leg up on what some other coaches get when they step into the program. I have the utmost respect for Coach Mitchell, and I think he’s doing a great job with the program.”
