Coach John C. Johnson returned to the sidelines in 2017 as a volunteer assistant coach after leading the program for more than a decade. After taking over the program in 2006, Johnson posted a winning record in 10 of his 11 seasons. His 67.0% winning percentage ranked 24th at the time of his retirement among all Division III coaches to have coached for at least five years.
In 2015, the Cardinals hit the 10-win mark, before falling to eventual conference champion, Nazareth College, in the Empire 8 Conference Championship.
The 2014 season saw Fisher post a 12-5 overall mark overall, with an impressive 7-1 mark in Empire 8 play, and an appearance in the Empire 8 Championship game. During that season, Johnson earned his 100th win at the college.
Fisher compiled 22 wins over the course of the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
In 2010, Johnson got the team off to its best start, 12-0, and led Fisher to a College-record 16 wins overall and a College-best .889 win percentage.
Johnson led the team to a 15-win season in 2009, with a .833 win percentage. For the first time in the lacrosse program’s history, Johnson led the team to the Empire 8 Championship game in 2009. Johnson has also guided the Cardinals to three berths in the ECAC Upstate Championship.
Johnson, a member of the Rochester Chapter of the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame, came to Fisher from Canandaigua Academy where he was the head coach for the boy’s varsity lacrosse program for 26 years. During that time, he compiled a career record of 357-149, while leading the team to 13 Finger Lakes League titles, six Section V titles, and four Western New York Regional Championship crowns. Johnson is a seven-time Finger Lakes League Coach of the Year, and retired after 33 years of teaching high school history.
Johnson also coached the girl’s varsity basketball team to nine Finger Lakes East titles, and two sectional and regional championships from 1993 to 2005, while posting a 218-49 overall record. John and his wife, Susan, reside in Canandaigua. They have a son, Marshall, and a daughter, Jordan.
