FLEMING ISLAND - Former Fleming Island High basketball point guard Kenyia Johnson made a recent return to her home gym, but with a different goal.

“I told my team that just because it was kind of a homecoming for me, they still needed to bring their A-game,” said Johnson, now a first-year head girls basketball coach for Bradford County High School now sporting an 8-5 won/loss record. “I found that there are a lot of teaching moments from seeing what I used to do on the court to getting the team to execute my vision.”

Johnson, a 2014 Fleming Island High grad, played at the University of Evansville in Indiana for her first two college years then finished at Eastern Kentucky University. Johnson was an All-Freshman conference player at Evansville.

“I had a good run, but blew a knee,” said Johnson. “I finished my degree and came home, reached out to my former coach Kim Pereira at Bishop Snyder and started as an assistant coach there.”

Johnson after three years at Bishop Snyder, then found her way to Bradford County this year and has found the transition to a head coach very exciting.

“I want them to be intense and energetic on the court,” said Johnson, who teaches emotional behavior classes at Bradford County High School. “Once we get two good halves together, we’ll be okay.”

Johnson’s Bradford squad had a good first three quarters against Oakleaf High at the Jarvis Williams Christmas Invitational before succumbing to a 62-50 loss then came to Fleming Island for a 50-26 win. Earlier in the season, the Lady Tornadoes beat Middleburg 70-11 as Johnson opened with three wins in season one; 49-41 over Forest and a ridiculous 57-1 win over Union County.