Sometimes it’s the challenge, that special desire to take something at its low point and make it into something. There’s the group effort, working within a close group, and transforming a perennial loser into a Pacific-10 Conference power.
Tina Johnson-Lockhart helped coach a consistently successful Texas volleyball team, where the word “rebuilding” was bypassed for “reloading.” Three of those years were with Jim Moore, a well-traveled coach, whose latest challenge with Oregon may be his toughest.
Johnson-Lockhart’s desire to join Moore’s staff outweighed the other factors: Oregon’s lack of success in league play, changing a program’s reputation and recruiting talent and moving halfway across the country. Consider those as extra benefits to joining Moore’s staff and being part of the turnaround.
“I really wanted to have the opportunity to work with Jim again,” she said.
Johnson-Lockhart’s background for recruiting talent is evident. She brought 20 Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 Players and 11 scholastic All-Americans to Texas. Texas’ consistent success translated into 31 all-conference and 22 All-America selections during Johnson-Lockhart’s 11-year stay.
She’ll continue as a recruiting coordinator at Oregon, a task that involves watching club volleyball and relying on help from high-school coaches. Club volleyball in recent years has provided arenas for college coaches to see plenty of talent in a single area. With staffs smaller and budgets tight, few coaches have the option to watch high-school matches where they might only see one player.
Because some players may not have the finances to play club volleyball, many good prospects may go unseen, Johnson-Lockhart said. She said the problem can be lessened with high school coaches’ help. Coaches need to contact the college programs and share information on players so they don’t go overlooked.
Finding these anonymous players – talented individuals – without the name value is Johnson-Lockhart’s preference. Talented players who have name value with established programs are harder to draw to a building situation, she said.
“We have to find that special athlete that loves the sport of volleyball and still wants to play volleyball because they love the game,” Johnson-Lockhart said.
Two players – Katie Swoboda and Mira Djuric – have helped immediately as evidenced by Oregon’s 10-3 start. The Serbian Djuric was one of the best junior servers in
Europe. Swoboda is a talented libero whom Moore considers one of the best recruits nationally and with unlimited potential.
The success will help change the program’s reputation and create a steady talent stream to Eugene, Johnson-Lockhart said.
“Here we have the opportunity to build a foundation and take a team somewhere from where they’ve never been,” Johnson-Lockhart said.
Currently, with Oregon’s available talent, Johnson-Lockhart believes Oregon matches well with much of the Pac-10 conference. It’s the elite programs – Stanford, Southern California and Washington – that Oregon wants to reach.
“If you’re competitive in the Pac-10, you’re competitive in the nation,” she said.
The team’s hot start coincided with a lengthy home schedule to begin the season. Oregon started five of its first eight games at home.
“When you start winning that puts you in a mind frame ‘yes, we can’ but the biggest thing is what are we going to do when we go on the road?” Johnson-Lockhart said. “That’s where you really know what you’re made of.”
The team started 5-0 at home and completed a 3-1 stretch at the Portland State Crowne Plaza Showcase, including a win against an NCAA Tournament team in San Francisco. The true tests are coming with Pac-10 play, with Oregon starting 0-2 against the two Arizona schools.
Johnson-Lockhart is also in charge of team travel and decides where Oregon stays, weighing factors including proximity, securing transportation and practice arrangements at the visiting schools.
It’s a busy schedule, but one she enjoys, Johnson-Lockhart said.
People ask the longtime assistant whether she ever wants a program of her own. But she likes her current position; she likes having an impact without the extra responsibilities of being a head coach.
“I stay at this type of position at various places because I enjoy it and I love it,” Johnson-Lockhart said.

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