Ashley Johnston Steps In to Dream Job with Alabama Gymnastics

Alabama's newest head coach sat down with BamaCentral to discuss her vision for Crimson Tide gymnastics.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — From being announced the head coach at her alma mater on May 23 and moving across the state to begin the job, the last few weeks have been nothing short of a whirlwind for Ashley Johnston. But it's something the new Alabama gymnastics coach has building towards for a while. 

"I feel like I've been preparing for this for my whole life," Johnston told BamaCentral. "So it's sort of been that feeling like the night before a national championship where there's some excited nerves along the way, but there's also this confidence in settling into, I've been preparing for this my whole life and I'm ready to step up and step in."

Johnston knows a thing or two about that night before a national championship feeling from both the athlete and coach perspective. She was part of two national championship-winning teams at Alabama, and the Crimson Tide advanced to the Super Six all five years she was on the team. As an assistant coach with Auburn, she helped lead the Tigers to their first Four on the Floor appearance in 2022. 

And one of her biggest tasks as head coach will be getting Alabama gymnastics back to consistently competing for national championships. For Johnston, getting back to that level all begins with the culture she wants to build.

"My priority is creating a culture and cultivating an environment where every student athlete is valued, every student athlete has a voice, every student athlete’s perspective is important in creating a strong culture to have the opportunity to compete for championships," Johnston said. "Not the expectation, not the pressure, but the opportunity, and I think that language is important for this generation and how we pursue those goals."

Alabama Athletics

The Crimson Tide has not won a national championship since Johnston (then Ashley Priess) clinched the 2012 national championship meet with a 9.95 on balance beam. 

Alabama is one of the most storied programs in the sport with six national titles. It is where Johnston chose to spend her college years after ending her pursuit of the 2008 Olympics to come learn, train and compete under Sarah and David Patterson. 

Alabama Athletics

The Pattersons were both at Johnston's introductory press conference, and she said they have been people she's been able to turn to throughout her coaching career. And they will continue to be her biggest cheerleaders as their former athlete steps in to their former role as the Alabama gymnastics head coach.

Johnston has done a lot in the gymnastics world from her competing days as a gymnast on the USA National Team before coming to Alabama for college. After college, she spent time as a club coach at Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy and also judged competitions. Her first collegiate job was at Illinois before spending the last four years at Auburn. And now she replaces another former Patterson gymnast and assistant in Dana Duckworth, who served in the head coaching role from 2014-2022.

Every experience so far has shaped and prepared her for this point, Johnston said the Alabama job has always been her No. 1 dream throughout her coaching career.

"These were the five years that were the most formative for me," Johnston said. "Sarah and David Patterson were just incredible mentors and influencers for me. Having the opportunity to step into such an incredible program with the history and tradition that we've already experienced, I just feel very blessed and very fortunate to be stepping into such a great opportunity."

The parity in college gymnastics has continued to grow around the SEC and the country the last several seasons. Her stops in the Big 10 and SEC have given Johnston valuable insights and taught lessons as she steps into her first head coaching job.

According to College Gym News, Alabama has the No. 1 recruiting class in the class of 2022 with six gymnasts committed, and it was a prime concern for Johnston to get in contact with those ladies once she got the job.

"My top priority when I found out I got the job was to immediately get in touch with all of our athletes on the team and all of our recruits," Johnston said. "And so I put a lot of other people and logistics and friends on hold in order to really step into that and address that and make sure that those relationships and those connections are strong, because that's been my priority is to take care of the student athletes— whether they're on our team or whether they're incoming or they're committed to be coming in."

One of the top gymnasts in the class of 2023, Lily Smith, flipped her commitment from Alabama to Georgia on Tuesday. Former Alabama uneven bars assistant coach Ryan Roberts was hired at Georgia. 

Alabama Athletics

Even though it has been nearly a decade since Johnston lived in Tuscaloosa, she is already familiar with most girls on the Alabama roster because of how small the world of competitive gymnastics can be. However, she credits the current gymnasts for how open and receptive they have been so far. 

Alabama loses a large senior class from the 2022 season, but returns a strong group with this year's senior class, which features the 2021 SEC Gymnast of the Year Luisa Blanco, Ella Burgess, Makarri Doggette, Mati Waligora and Sania Mitchell, who is returning for a fifth year. 

"It’s great to have seasoned veterans because they know what it takes," Johnston said.  They know what's helped them be successful, and they also know the areas where there's room for improvement in order to be successful. And so I'll definitely lean on them in learning from their experience, and I'm very excited that they've been so open and welcoming and ready to jump in and get on board with the direction that we're moving. And I think that will really help our new incoming freshmen learn what it takes and learn from their experiences in being able to move forward."

It will be no easy job taking over a program like Alabama in the competitive SEC landscape, but Johnston has a solid foundation to continue building upon and is up for the task. With the season still seven months away, the whirlwind is just getting started.