Girls Bowling: Johanning steps down as head coach

Rochelle native resigns after 14 years with program

Russell Hodges
Posted 9/21/20

Joey Johanning has always envisioned a path where he could put himself in a position to coach his daughter, Addylynn, several years down the line. When an opportunity to pursue that path opened up recently, Johanning decided it was time for a change.

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Girls Bowling: Johanning steps down as head coach

Rochelle native resigns after 14 years with program

Posted

ROCHELLE — Joey Johanning has always envisioned a path where he could put himself in a position to coach his daughter, Addylynn, several years down the line. When an opportunity to pursue that path opened up recently, Johanning decided it was time for a change.

After 14 years as head coach of the Lady Hub bowling program, Johanning will be stepping down and transitioning to a new coaching role at Sycamore High School. A Rochelle native who currently lives in Sycamore, Johanning will inherit a talented Spartan program that has sent teams to the IHSA State Championship in each of the last three seasons.

“My long-term goal when I got into coaching and after the birth of my kids was to have a chance to coach my son or my daughter,” Johanning said. “There isn’t a high turnover rate in high school bowling coaches, as many of the coaches have been around for a while, and coupling that with living in Sycamore and having more family time… That was a big part in the decision.”

A former Hub bowler, Johanning saw coaching as a way to give back to his community. Since relocating to Sycamore 10 years ago, Johanning said the long commutes between his home, his job in Wheaton and coaching in Rochelle played a role in his decision to move on. Although some of his teams were more competitive than others, Johanning said the camaraderie and watching the growth of the girls are what he will miss most about coaching the Lady Hubs.

“I really enjoyed the camaraderie of the team and having the chance to give back to a program that I went through,” Johanning said. “Having grown up in Rochelle, I knew a lot of the parents who had kids come through the program. Every coach loves watching their girls have those ‘a-ha’ moments when they learn something new and the sport starts to click for them… Should the day come that I could coach my daughter, it would mean the world to me.”