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As soon as the snow melted and the spring weather became more favorable, Dan Wilmot could always count on seeing one thing from his social studies classroom at Brighton High School.
He would often find midfielder Cameron Johnson practicing his soccer skills on the turf field, working on sharpening his fundamentals. Even though the season was months away, Johnson prepared like the first day of practice was right around the corner.
“The thing about Cam is nobody is going to outwork him,” said Wilmot, who coached Johnson for three seasons with the Barons.
“He’s a real soccer rat. You would always see him on the turf (at the high school) working on his individuals and doing his running. He was self-motivated and had a goal of bettering himself. Clearly he has done that.”
The hours of drills paid off for Johnson not only with Brighton, but his career after high school.
Johnson has emerged as one of the top players on the Ohio Northern men’s soccer team having been named First Team All-Ohio by the Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association. He started 21 of 23 games last season for the Division III school in north west Ohio leading the team in goals with 13.
Johnson will be in his junior season this fall.
“I’m feeling good,” Johnson said about the upcoming season. “I have been working out a lot this summer, I feel comfortable. Hopefully we will have a good year.”
Johnson played all over the field with Brighton but has found a home on the ONU attack. His 6-foot-2, 180-pound frame set him apart from other attackmen and immediately was comfortable at the next level scoring five goals in 21 games his freshman year.
Johnson’s final goal of last season came in the Ohio Athletic Conference Championship game, when the Polar Bears defeated Heidelberg 3-2 in double overtime to advance to reach the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. Johnson and his teammates are hoping to contend for a national championship this season.
“He loves the game, and it rubs off on the rest of the team,” said Brent Ridenour, Ohio Northern head coach. “A lot of guys follow in his lead, playing in the offseason in pick up games and working out. Every few years we get a player like Cameron who loves the game of soccer and picks up everyone else’s game.”
Before heading to ONU Johnson was looking at playing Division I soccer at the University of Maine. During his search though Maine suspended the men’s soccer program due to budget cuts in the Athletic Department.
As soon as the snow melted and the spring weather became more favorable, Dan Wilmot could always count on seeing one thing from his social studies classroom at Brighton High School.
He would often find midfielder Cameron Johnson practicing his soccer skills on the turf field, working on sharpening his fundamentals. Even though the season was months away, Johnson prepared like the first day of practice was right around the corner.
“The thing about Cam is nobody is going to outwork him,” said Wilmot, who coached Johnson for three seasons with the Barons.
“He’s a real soccer rat. You would always see him on the turf (at the high school) working on his individuals and doing his running. He was self-motivated and had a goal of bettering himself. Clearly he has done that.”
The hours of drills paid off for Johnson not only with Brighton, but his career after high school.
Johnson has emerged as one of the top players on the Ohio Northern men’s soccer team having been named First Team All-Ohio by the Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association. He started 21 of 23 games last season for the Division III school in north west Ohio leading the team in goals with 13.
Johnson will be in his junior season this fall.
“I’m feeling good,” Johnson said about the upcoming season. “I have been working out a lot this summer, I feel comfortable. Hopefully we will have a good year.”
Johnson played all over the field with Brighton but has found a home on the ONU attack. His 6-foot-2, 180-pound frame set him apart from other attackmen and immediately was comfortable at the next level scoring five goals in 21 games his freshman year.
Johnson’s final goal of last season came in the Ohio Athletic Conference Championship game, when the Polar Bears defeated Heidelberg 3-2 in double overtime to advance to reach the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. Johnson and his teammates are hoping to contend for a national championship this season.
“He loves the game, and it rubs off on the rest of the team,” said Brent Ridenour, Ohio Northern head coach. “A lot of guys follow in his lead, playing in the offseason in pick up games and working out. Every few years we get a player like Cameron who loves the game of soccer and picks up everyone else’s game.”
Before heading to ONU Johnson was looking at playing Division I soccer at the University of Maine. During his search though Maine suspended the men’s soccer program due to budget cuts in the Athletic Department.
Johnson put aside his dreams of playing Division I soccer. The disappointment went away quickly after a little bit of time on the ONU campus.
“They had struggled a little bit in the past but it seemed like they were getting better,” Johnson said about the Maine program. “They seemed like they were on the rise. It was a little surprising when I heard about it.”
Johnson always knew he wanted to play soccer in college. He was playing soccer in leagues beginning at seven-years-old.
The devotion to the sport paid off as he was selected to the Baron varsity team as a sophomore. Johnson also played forward on the Brighton/ER/HF-L ice hockey team.
“It was definitely fun,” Johnson said about playing soccer at Brighton.” We struggled but I always loved playing there. It could be frustrating at times but I liked the guys I played with and I always managed to have fun.”
