‘We wouldn’t be where we are today without Erik Johnson.’ Former Sayre AD dies at 51.
Erik Johnson, who served as a coach and the athletic director at Sayre High School for more than a decade, has died. He was 51.
Johnson, a native of Spring Valley, N.Y., was living in in Savannah, Ga., where he’d worked as the director of athletics for Savannah Country Day School since 2016. Before that he had been the athletic director at Sayre since 2010, one of several roles he held during his 12 years at the small Lexington private school.
In his youth Johnson was a multi-sport standout who went on to play lacrosse at Skidmore College, an NCAA Division III school where he set a program record for scoring. He eventually earned a doctorate in chiropractic medicine and operated a private practice in Utah before starting his career in education at Sayre in 2004. Prior to becoming the Spartans’ AD, Johnson worked as the school’s lacrosse coach — he helped build the program into a varsity sport — the girls’ soccer coach, a teacher and as director of the school’s sports medicine program.
Johnson, according to his obituary shared to Legacy.com, often cited a quote attributed to former Green Bay Packers Coach Vince Lombardi when coaching and teaching: “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.”
“Of all the great sports quotes I have heard in my time as an athlete, coach and director of athletics, Vince Lombardi’s timeless words have always been the most inspirational to me,” Johnson said. “There is a fearless determination to tackle challenges and take risks knowing you possess the resiliency to rebound from failure conveyed in his sentiment. Any athlete’s journey will invariably have its share of ups and downs, successes and failures. Those experiences, shared with teammates, are what make the countless hours of practice, training and hard work worthwhile.”
Rob Goodman, Sayre’s boys’ basketball coach and an alumnus of the school, was hired by Johnson in 2013.
“There’s no words for it,” Goodman told the Herald-Leader. “He was always somebody you could count on, lean on, and would have your back and try to persevere through any situation. He was a hard worker and was a friend, too. We’re all gonna miss him. He had an infectious smile and put the school first. He always did what was best for the school, the students and the athletes.
“We wouldn’t be where we are today without Erik Johnson, that’s for sure.”
Stephen Manella became Sayre’s head of school in 2012. The thing that resonated most about Johnson, he said, was his “tremendous, upbeat spirit.”
Among Johnson’s accomplishments as Sayre’s AD were an upgrade to the school’s gymnasium that included installations of a new floor and banners and other memorabilia recognizing former Spartans of note.
“Those may sound like small things, but I think when you walk in, it gives the impression that athletics are important at Sayre and also we care about them,” Manella told the Herald-Leader. “It’s part of our mission and we see athletics as a great teaching tool, and Erik saw the value in that as well.”
Johnson also placed greater emphasis on the development of youth-level programs at the K-12 school to help build a more cohesive sports culture.
“Whenever you think about a critical role, whether it’s as a coach or an athletic director, and the important role of mentoring young men and women and helping them work through challenges and keeping them positive, he had the perfect personality for that,” Manella said.
Johnson died May 28 following a battle with lymphoma, a cancer of the body’s lymphatic system. He is survived by his wife Jami, three daughters — Emma, Kate and Lily — his mother Norma and brothers Steve and Gregg. His family asks that remembrances be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in support of his daughter Lily’s campaign to raise money and awareness for blood cancer research.
This story was originally published June 3, 2020 at 3:24 PM.
