Photo courtesy of Denton Johnson
Denton Johnson is the new head girls basketball coach at Chelsea High School. Photo courtesy of Denton Johnson.
There is no apprehension for Denton Johnson in following the most successful coach in Chelsea High School girls basketball history.
Johnson sees it as a great opportunity. On Thursday evening, he was approved as the next head coach of the Chelsea girls program. He takes over following the departure of Jason Harlow, who is now the head coach at Homewood.
“You’ve got a championship caliber program at Chelsea,” Johnson said. “Coach Harlow did a heck of a job, and we’re going to try to continue the success.”
Harlow led the Lady Hornets to previously unreached heights over the last seven years. The Lady Hornets played in the regional final in four of the last five years, including two trips to the state final four and a state runner-up trophy this past season. He was named the Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 6A Coach of the Year as a result.
Johnson is no stranger to the area, either. His children go to school in Oak Mountain and he has spent the last nine years as the head boys basketball coach at Ramsay. Previous stops include Buckhorn, Enterprise and Spain Park high schools as assistant coaches. He has also been a graduate assistant at Jacksonville State University.
He was approved as the new girls basketball coach at Decatur High School in April, but it became apparent to him that moving his family at this time was not the right move.
“It became more difficult than we thought it was going to be,” Johnson said. “Our daughter was upset about moving. When Chelsea became a real opportunity 10 minutes from my house, that was it. It’s a better community fit, better for my family and better for my kids…Timing is a lot of it, too.”
Johnson complimented what Harlow did at Chelsea and hopes to be the coach to sustain that level of success. He said there are several similarities with the two coaches’ playing styles, particularly on defense, that lead him to believe the transition on the court will not be too much of a hurdle.
“Normally with a new hire, you’re going to a rebuild situation,” Johnson said. “But this is a healthy position. It’s a highly sought-after position. The way the community is growing, it’s going to continue to blossom.”
This will be Johnson’s first experience coaching girls basketball, but he believes there are enough similarities between the boys and girls games that the transition will be a smooth one.
He is ready to get going at a place expecting to keep winning.
“We’re excited,” he said. “We’re going to put a championship program on the floor. We’re going to play hard, smart, together, disciplined on and off the court.”
