Rick Johnson

Rick Johnson Photo Gallery

Coaching Experience

• Nebraska Assistant Coach 2015-2019
• Army West Point Interim Head Coach 2014-15
• Army West Point Assistant Coach 2011-14

Coaching Honors

• GARC Assistant Coach of the Year 2016-17

Athletic Honors

• Massachusetts Junior State Champion
  • 3-Position 1985, 1986
  • Prone 1986

Rick Johnson was named the assistant rifle coach at Nebraska on Aug. 20, 2015. He completed his fourth and final season in 2019. 

In 2018-19 Johnson helped coach senior Hannah Virga to an individual appearance at the NCAA Championships in the air rifle discipline. He produced an All-American for the fourth consecutive year in junior Samantha Peterson, who claimed a second-team smallbore honor. Johnson ultimately helped lead Nebraska to a 13-9 record and a runner-up finish at the GARC Championships. 

2017-18 was another successful season for Johnson after he helped lead the Huskers to a school-record setting sixth consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships, where NU finished eighth. He also produced an All-American in senior Dacotah Faught, who claimed a second-team honor in air rifle. By the end of the season Nebraska had produced a season record of 9-21, including a fifth-place finish at the GARC Championships. 

Johnson's second season at Nebraska was a successful one.  He led the Huskers to a fifth consecutive NCAA Championships appearance, tying a school record. Improving upon the previous season, NU finished sixth. Johnson also produced two All-Americans in 2016-17, with Samantha Peterson earning an honorable mention in smallbore and Dacotah Faught claiming a second-team air rifle honor. Johnson assisted in leading the Huskers to a 10-3 regular season record, a second-place conference finish and a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. He was honored by the GARC Conference for his outstanding contributions to the team, earning GARC Assistant Coach of the Year. 

In his first season at Nebraska, Johnson helped lead NU to its fourth consecutive NCAA appearance, where the team finished eighth. Johnson produced two All-Americans in Denise and Rachel Martin in 2015-16. Additionally, he helped the Huskers to a 8-6 regular-season record, along with a sixth-place finish at the GARC Championships in his debut season with Nebraksa.

Prior to coming to Nebraska, Johnson served as the assistant coach at Army West Point for three seasons under head coach Ron Wigger from 2011 to 2014. During the 2014-15 season, Johnson was the acting head coach at Army West Point and helped mentor the team to a 7-6 record and a seventh-place finish at the GARC Championships.

During his first year at Army West Point, Johnson played an instrumental part in the team's fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. In the four years Johnson served as coach, the Black Knights finished 30-17 and made three NCAA appearances (2012-13-14). His peers rewarded his efforts by voting him the GARC Assistant Coach of the Year for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. He was the CRCA Coach of the Year in 2014-15.

Prior to working at Army West Point, Johnson founded a junior marksmanship program at Harvard in 2005. The program is meant for individuals 10-20 years old who are interested in competitive shooting. The program teaches firearm safety, along with marksmanship skills. He served as the director for the program until 2011. From 2006 to 2011, Johnson coached the Massachusetts Junior Rifle Team, comprised of the top shooters within the state.

Johnson graduated from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell with a degree in meteorology in 1999. Following graduation, he served as an assistant staff meteorologist at MIT for eight years.

Johnson has been a competitive smallbore shooter for over 25 years. He is a three-time Massachusetts state champion, claiming the 3-position Junior State Titles in 1985 and 1986, and also capturing the 1986 Prone Junior State Championship.

Johnson is a licensed USA shooting level one rifle official and advanced rifle coach. He and his wife Ann have one son, Erik.

Getting to Know Coach Johnson
What is your coaching philosophy?
"I like to keep things as simple as possible. This sport is so technical with all the specialized gear [and] it is easy to become lost in all that. Breathe, relax and shoot the middle of the target. What I mean by that is to do all your hard work in training; match day is just about being relaxed and letting your training take over."

What are you most excited about this season?
“I see a lot of potential with this team. It has a great mix of juniors and seniors with two to three years of NCAA experience, along with a group of talented incoming freshmen. I'm excited to help this team work toward a championship.”

What is your favorite part about being a coach?
"I enjoy working with each individual. Everyone thinks, acts and reacts differently to situations. I like figuring out how to best coach each individual athlete so that they can meet and surpass their goals."

What attracted you to come coach for Nebraska?
“Nebraska's rifle program has a tradition of being one of the top programs. It has been a few years since my former team has beaten the Nebraska team. Once I came here for a visit and saw the commitment the university has toward making sure all student-athletes have every opportunity for academic and athletic greatness, I was convinced I wanted to be a part of Nebraska athletics.”