One came to the job after much consideration. The other was thrust into it suddenly. But Lebanon High graduates Austin Mansell and Owen Johnstone are thriving as members of the Ithaca (N.Y.) College men’s soccer coaching staff.
Although six years apart in age, the two are longtime friends. Johnstone was a ball boy for his father, Lebanon coach Rob Johnstone, when Mansell was the Raiders’ goalkeeper. And during the fall of 2017, while taking a gap year after college and travel, Mansell served as a volunteer coach for his alma mater, where the ranks included the coach’s kid.
“Owen and I are really close now; we spend a lot of time together,” Mansell said. “I’m happy for him with the way things have turned out.”
Fortune did not seem to smile on Owen Johnstone last year. Having chosen Ithaca over several other schools and excited to join the NCAA Division III Bombers, the freshman suffered a broken nose when inadvertently elbowed during a preseason scrimmage. Concerns over the wounded schnoz gave way, however, to greater worries after the Plainfield resident started suffering drowsiness and dizziness, along with headaches.
Because Johnstone had endured four previous concussions, Ithaca’s training staff and team physician sidelined him for the season after multiple exams. The Bombers went on to a 14-2-4 record a year after a 7-8-2 finish.
Johnstone trained diligently during the off-season and ran a 5 minute, 40-second mile while back with his father’s team in August. He was strong and fit, but torn over whether to return to action and risk further head trauma. The day Johnstone decided to tell Ithaca coach Kyle Dezotell that he was retiring, the coach beat him to the punch with a text. What’s your choice, it
Johnstone, 19, had initial worries that he would be a “glorified cone setter,” but was instead given oversight of the GPS trackers each Bomber wears for practices and games. It opened a window for into sports analytics, and Johnstone also assisted with various drills. Privy to all coaching staff meetings and decisions, Dezotell’s trust forced the sophomore to make a slight break from his former teammates.
“For the most part, the guys understood there were things I couldn’t share with them,” Johnstone said. “I was really nervous at first, but they were just happy I was able to be there and they respected my role.”
Mansell’s presence eased the transition. The onetime West Lebanon resident and two-sport athlete at Elmira (N.Y.) College is in his second year of study for a sports psychology degree and is a graduate assistant coach. Combined with a year spent working for Grass Roots Soccer in South Africa, Mansell’s experience allows him to be a substantial resource on goalkeeping and life.
“You work in smaller groups in graduate school and get to talk about real occurrences,” said Mansell, who’s considering either becoming a fulltime college assistant or embarking on four more years of study to earn a Ph.D and become a practicing psychologist.
“There would be an incident with our team that I didn’t know how best to handle, and we could talk it through with the professor and the class and people would throw out solutions.”
Johnstone is pondering majors in English, Spanish or Outdoor Education but said he believes coaching will be part of whichever path he chooses. He and his father joke about Owen eventually taking over the Lebanon program. Ithaca was 13-6-2 and reached the NCAA tournament’s second round this season.
“I’m learning a new perspective on soccer,” Owen Johnstone said. “I’m far from having my father’s experience but I see a lot of similarities in how I view the game.
“I had always thought that I’d go down this path, but I didn’t think it would happen so soon. It’s nice to get a chance to see that coaches are people, too.”
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com.