Sarah Johnson is the perfect blend for the Camden Catholic system

CHERRY HILL — Sarah Johnson sees her future.

The Camden Catholic senior only needs to fill in the details.

A volleyball player and senior basketball captain for the Irish, Johnson has already been accepted into one prestigious six-year collegiate career track and is waiting to hear from another. Johnson’s path is well planned out.

“I'm looking to go to college for occupational therapy,” Johnson said. “I hope to be in a program to my doctorate, and then that's what I'm looking forward to.”

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Johnson has already mastered the balance between athletics and academics. To her, they’re not competing interests. They’re complimentary. Her career goals reflect that.

“I've just always been like someone who wants to help people,” Johnson said. “In sports, you see it, too. People get injured all the time. And that's part of occupational therapy. And I've always been passionate. So, it's an opportunity for me to continue to help people in a sport that I love and even beyond that.”

Camden Catholic coach Christine Matera recognizes a player who has a calling. As a coach at her alma mater, Matera knows that setting goals is a valuable first step.

“Sarah's the consummate student-athlete,” Matera said. “She has been taking honors AP courses all throughout her career here at Camden Catholic. She already got accepted to a six-year Ph. D. program in occupational therapy at Jefferson, which is incredibly competitive program. She couldn't represent our program better than she does.”

Johnson was an easy selection to be a captain for the Irish. On the court, she averages close to a double-double in points and assists.

“I'm really lucky to be a senior for this group of girls specifically,” Johnson said. “We're really close team. That makes it really easy, honestly. I love when they come to me and asked me for help. It's just a very good environment. I'm lucky how close we are.”

Off the court, she was a key figure in welcoming juniors Aaryn Battle and Kassidy Thompson into the Irish fold when they transferred to Camden Catholic before their sophomore season. The duo attracted a lot of attention and became dominant forces on the court. Behind the scenes it could have been difficult but wasn’t.

“Sarah has been committed to us winning,” Matera said. “She fully embraces both Kass and Aaryn. Obviously, they're great compliments for her on the court. We play a lot of pick and rolls, and so she reaps the benefits of that. She's just the consummate team player. She was very welcoming.”

The Irish are 7-2 and playing some of the best basketball in South Jersey. Having a leader that embraces her role and encourages everyone else understand theirs, is a key reason for that success.

That’s Johnson.

“Last year was tough getting used to everyone being new,” Johnson said. “Obviously we knew how lucky we were to get the new girls. Everyone just got really close really fast. We're just a strong team at this point because of it.”

Tom Rimback, sports reporter

Tom Rimback grew up reading the Burlington County Times and Courier Post sports sections and began writing for the BCT in 1996. He has covered everything from Super Bowls and Final Fours to Tri-County Swimming but he’s happiest on a sideline interviewing South Jersey scholastic athletes for the Burlington County Times, the Courier Post and The Daily Journal. Follow him on twitter @RimbackBCT. Email him with story ideas at trimback@thebct.com and, most importantly, support local journalism with a subscription.

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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Camden Catholic senior Sarah Johnson a perfect leader for Irish