February 12, 2026 — It’s Day 4 in our behind-the-scenes series titled “A Week in the Life of Cobb Basketball.” We have already heard from the expected participants—two players and a head coach. Today, we follow one of the unsung heroes of scholastic athletics—the assistant coach.
Assistant coaches are more than just the extra adult on the team bench. They are often responsible for several roles that are vital to the team and the varsity head coach’s success. These include activities outside of game time, such as overseeing student academic eligibility, scheduling transportation for away games, and planning team development opportunities. Their in-game support may include situational strategy, clock management, substitution patterns, or foul tracking. The head coach may be locked in on every second of action on the floor—in practices or games—but the assistant often leads out in areas beyond that action so that the head coach can remain locked in.
On top of that, high school assistants will typically serve as the head coach of the junior varsity (JV) or freshman team, adding further coaching responsibilities to their plate. Additionally, unless they are a “community coach,” their primary role is that of an educator in the classroom, formulating lesson plans, teaching various subjects, and ensuring student development.
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As you will see, Campbell High School’s Terrell Johnson does all of that and more. He is an Assistant Coach for the Girls Varsity Basketball team, the Head Coach of the Girls JV team, and an Economics teacher at the school. Amazingly, however, his day starts at a part-time job in the wee hours of the morning.
Day: Thursday (non-game day)
Location: Johnson family home
Time: 3:10 a.m.
“My alarm clock rings, and it’s time to start the day. I get out of bed and get cleaned up and dressed for work at my part-time job at UPS.”
Coach Johnson is a package handler for the United Parcel Service (UPS). He has worked with the company for almost 24 years, since he was in high school. That job put him through college, paying for part of his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and all his specialist’s degree.
Location: UPS Facility
Time: 4:00 a.m.
“I take a 5-7 minute jog from the parking lot to my work area to squeeze in a little cardio. I clock in for work and get everything set up in my area for my supervisor and coworkers 30 minutes before start time. Then I unload the truck and maybe help another coworker out of theirs.”
Time: 7:00 a.m.
“My part-time shift is over. I clock out and get another quick five-minute jog to my car and head to the high school.”
Location: Campbell High School
Time: 7:30 a.m.
“I get to Campbell and set up my class, get a quick bit of oatmeal, and make a cup of coffee. I have a meeting with fellow content teachers in 15 minutes, and then I have to be at my morning duty station by 8:15.”
Time: 8:30 a.m.
“First block is my planning period, so I head to prepare for my AP Microeconomics class, look over game film, upload stats, check at least five players’ grades each day, create an outline for summer, create a practice plan for JV practice, and check on a few tournaments and games for next season.”
By 9:00 in the morning, Coach Johnson has been on the go or on task for six hours straight. After an Individualized Education Program meeting, he returns to his classroom to begin teaching at 9:45 a.m. He spends the next several hours teaching students about varying levels of Economics.
Time: 3:30 p.m.
“Classes are done. I make a quick wardrobe change to get ready for practice.”
Time: 3:45 p.m.
“It’s time to start JV practice. We have a big regular-season game against Hillgrove.
Today, we want to emphasize fundamentals: catch, pivot & look before dribbling—also, player movement and ball movement versus their half-court offense. We want to be intentional defensively about communicating to locate shooters, help on drives, and recover, but also play good on-ball defense and defend their screen-and-roll game. They’re a really good team, so it will take our best effort to be successful.”
Time: 4:45 p.m.
“I take the JV team to my classroom to watch film from our previous game against Hillgrove and go over our points of emphasis. Normally, I try to keep it to three things or less, to make it easier for all players to remember.”
At 5:30 p.m., Coach Johnson ends the JV practice, but his time on the court is not done for the day. He still has Varsity practice ahead.
Time: 5:45 p.m.
“Preparation for Varsity practice begins. I check in with Head Coach Randy McClure to make sure he has everything he needs for practice, and I find out what tasks he needs completed for the basketball program. We are blessed to have six assistant coaches, so we divide most of our responsibilities amongst us.”
Time: 6:00 p.m.
“Varsity practice begins. Today, one of my responsibilities is clock duties to make sure we don’t run over on time.”
At 7:00 p.m., Coach Johnson finally ends his long workday and heads back home to his family.
Location: Johnson family home
Time: 7:15 p.m.
“I arrive home and spend time with my family. It’s almost time for me to get my 2-year-old and 4-year-old ready for bedtime.”
Given how long Coach Johnson has been awake, he probably won’t be in bed too long after his children. Hopefully, getting a glimpse into the life of the assistant coach will increase the appreciation they deserve.
The end of the week is near. Day 5 is game day #2 for the week. Be sure to check out what Friday has in store.
