Sports
Ridgewood High Football Coach Chuck Johnson Retires
The legendary coach, who was at the helm of the program for over 30 years, will not return to the sidelines if there is a 2020 season.
RIDGEWOOD, NJ — Chuck Johnson, Ridgewood High School's football coach for nearly 40 years, will not be leading the Maroons in 2020. The coach announced his retirement earlier this month.
According to northjersey.com, Johnson held a Zoom conference with the team to announce his decision.
In his storied career, Johnson led the Maroons to seven New Jersey state titles, including back-to-back championships in 2018-2019, and 2003-2004. The 2016 state championship team went undefeated.
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According to the northjersey.com report, Johnson's decision comes in no small part because of his continued rehabilitation after a serious infection put him in the intensive care unit in 2019.
There is presently no timetable for a new coaching hire.
Find out what's happening in Mahwahfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
On Twitter, the football program and those close to it have been honoring Johnson over the last couple of weeks with the hashtag #coachjohnsonlegend.
This week, in recognition of Coach Johnson's retirement, we ask members of the Ridgewood and greater North Jersey football community to post your favorite pictures of Coach and use hashtag #coachjohnsonlegend pic.twitter.com/c8lZarPHUj
— Ridgewood HS NJ Football (@RHSNJFootball) May 19, 2020
2016 Undefeated State Champion Squad #coachjohnsonlegend @RHSNJFootball pic.twitter.com/1eXm3os92r
— Will French (@will_french68) May 19, 2020
The most amazing teacher, coach, and dad. Usually all of those at once. #coachjohnsonlegend #simplythebest #ridgewoodfootballforever @RHSNJFootball @mikeyholmes9 pic.twitter.com/VioCZozJlt
— Rebecca L. Johnson (@JohnsonInGrade1) May 22, 2020
No decision has been made on when youth and high school sports can resume, but New Jersey's pro sports teams were given the go-ahead to resume practices earlier this week.
Though high school sports teams don't know when they can start preparing for games again, there's been some indication what it may look like. Read more: Face Masks, Small Practices: How School Sports Could Resume In NJ
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