Taking her best shot

By Joe Mason
Times Sports Editor

There’s a good chance Jenna Johnson could have been a very accomplished swimmer.
Johnson is a senior at Nazareth Academy High School, and while growing up, she spent plenty of time with her NRG Swim Club at the Neshaminy Middle School pool.
In fact, her sister, Michelle, won a pair of events at the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association District 1 Class AA swimming championships as a freshman last winter.
And even though Jenna enjoyed jumping into the water, she decided to go in another direction.
"I liked swimming, but we’d have to get up at 5 a.m. for practice, and that wasn’t my thing," Johnson said. "I liked it, but I liked other sports better. It was fun and all, but I’m glad I got out of it."
Jenna got out of swimming and jumped into basketball. And last year — her first year as a starting guard for the Pandas — she was the only underclassmen starter and the team’s leading scorer.
This year Johnson is joined by a pair of seniors — Kristen Hladczuk and Stephanie Myers — on the Pandas roster. But unlike Johnson, Hladczuk and Myers don’t have the same varsity experience.
"This year, I’m trying to be a better leader," Johnson said. "In the past, I’ve just gone out and led by example. But I’m trying to be a little more vocal now.
"It’s hard because I’m not a loud, director type," she continued. "But I kind of have to be just so I can help everyone know what they have to do."
By her own admission, Johnson is still working on becoming a great team captain.
But basketball-wise, she’s already ready.
Johnson spent her summer as an assistant coach with her father, Charlie, working with an under-13 Amateur Athletic Union basketball team.
"It was different, a lot different from playing," Johnson admitted. "I’m really into running plays and the girls; sometimes I just wanted to go out and play.
"I definitely see things from my coaches’ perspective a little more now," she continued. "I think that will make me a better player."
Now the goal is to make the team a little better. The Pandas have won three of their first nine games this year but have faced stiff competition in the process.
They opened the year with a 44-40 victory over Archbishop Ryan, but they’ve also had tough losses to Cardinal O’Hara, St. Hubert, Germantown Academy and Holy Name.
All four of those schools have the potential for big seasons, so while the matches count as losses, they could actually lead to more wins for Nazareth down the line.
"It’s good that we’ve had a tough (preseason) schedule because we play in a really tough league," Johnson said referring to the Catholic Academies League. "We’re a really young team, so we’re getting better every game.
"In each game, I really feel we improve in some aspect," she continued. "It’s hard when you don’t have a lot of experience and a lot of seniors, but we’re doing better. And I think if we keep improving, we’ll have a shot at the end."
Which is what happened a year ago.
Last year, Nazareth entered the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association’s playoffs two games under .500.
And in the first round, they pulled off a huge upset, knocking off Oxford High School, 48-39.
This year, Johnson and company would love to finish among the top four teams in their seven-team league.
"The league playoffs, right now, is a realistic goal," she said. "I think we could be good enough to get there, but we’re still working on things."
While Johnson certainly has her share of talented teammates, it’s her job to lead the way. And so far, she’s been the perfect teammate.
"Jenna has varsity experience; she came up with us when she was a freshman, so she knows what it takes to compete at the varsity level," Nazareth coach Kathy Costello said. "She’s a great help to me and the team.
"She’s been here through the ups and downs of the program, and she’s willing to do anything to help the team," Costello continued. "Sometimes this year she goes from the (shooting guard) to the point, and she’s done a very good job there. She doesn’t mind sacrificing (scoring) points to help the team."
Johnson’s main concern is winning as a team, but she also has some individual goals that she’d like to accomplish before turning in her Panda uniform for the final time.
She would love to score 1,000 career points, and she’s shy of that mark by just 400. And she’d also like to find the perfect college for next year.
She’s already had preliminary talks with Holy Family University, Alvernia College and Lock Haven University.
"I want to major in nursing because it seems like a really fun job where you can really help people," Johnson said. "Holy Family and Alvernia have great nursing programs, and I visited Lock Haven and I really liked it.
"Holy Family would be nice because it’s so close to Nazareth, but Alvernia would be nice, too, because it’s not too close. Both have their pluses and minuses," she continued. "But I just want a place where I can play and study nursing. That’s what I’m looking for now."
And the 1,000 points would be a nice reward, too.
"If we win and I can score a thousand (points), that would be great," she said. "Winning is more important than any individual goal, but it would be real nice to get both." ••
Sports editor Joe Mason can be reached at 215-354-3035 or jmason@phillynews.com