SANDPOINT — "Well deserved."

Those are two words that Sandpoint High girls wrestling head coach Valerie Johansen has been hearing a lot this week after receiving an award from the National Wrestling Coaches Association, announced Wednesday by the organization.

Johansen, who doubles as the middle school girls head wrestling coach and is also the office coordinator at SMS, was named the Girls Head Coach of the Year for the state of Idaho. Award recipients from each state were nominated by their state leaders for their outstanding work this past season. Johansen is now eligible for NWCA's Section 8 Coach of the Year honors. State chairs from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming will handle the voting and the winner will be announced next week. 

"These awards are about more than just wins and losses," NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer said. "They recognize the coaches who go the extra mile for their teams, their schools, and the sport. We're proud to shine a light on their efforts."

Johansen originally found out she won the award due to her own curiosity. When she read the article that listed the recipients, she was surprised to see her name.

"I really had no idea," Johansen said. "I saw the boys awards the day before because one of my coaching mentors, JB Plato, who was instrumental in my daughter's career and helped girls wrestling get onto the map, won."

Johansen said while the award was unexpected, she was humbled by it, and she hopes it serves as something special for the girls of Sandpoint High wrestling and for all of the girls wrestlers in North Idaho.

"I hope it brings attention to them because they're the ones doing all the work ... I'm just able to give them high-fives and hugs, encourage them along the way, and provide them with an opportunity and an avenue in the sport."

Johansen, who moved to Sandpoint over a decade ago from Sacramento, Calif., has seen her children grow up through the halls of Sandpoint High. Her son, Lucas, is a senior this year and a multi-sport athlete, having participated in football, basketball and wrestling, among other things. Her daughter, Kayelin (KJ), graduated in 2021 and was one of the first girls wrestlers in the school's history, eventually going on to wrestle at Corban University (NAIA) in Salem, Ore.

It was during her daughter's years at Sandpoint, trying to find her place in an emerging girls wrestling scene, that Johansen realized the equitable challenges that existed in the sport. After her daughter graduated, she took an opportunity to not just enter the coaching ranks, but became a pioneer for girls wrestling across the state.

"Somebody has to coach them," Johansen said after interest in the sport began to rise during her time as a volleyball coach in SMS' middle school program, which she still assists with to this day. "Our first official middle school team here was the current sophomore class. We won the state championship that year — they're just a great group of girls. That same year, I got a coaching job at the high school as an assistant coach to help out with the girls."

Among the many influences Johansen credits are 2003 graduate and current Sandpoint High boys wrestling coach, Josh Ratigan; 27-year head coach of Bonners Ferry High and three-time Idaho Wrestling Coach of the Year, Conrad Garner; current Pocatello High head wrestling coach and 2001 Bonners Ferry High graduate, JB Plato, who won a 171-pound A-2 state championship in 2000; Corey Richards, current Bonners Ferry Wrestling Club board member and a 1986 graduate of Bonners Ferry High; Fred Bartlett, current head wrestling coach at Buhl High and USA Wrestling Women's Director for the state of Idaho; and the legendary Dick Ross, a 1976 graduate of Sandpoint High.

The biggest influence of them all, however, her husband, Andre, former varsity head wrestling and football coach at Christian Brothers High and the assistant athletic director and assistant head football coach at Capital Christian High — both of which are located in the Greater Sacramento area. He's now a coach in some capacity of five different SMS athletic teams, including the middle school girls wrestling team.

Without the help of these individuals, and without the continued support from Lake Pend Oreille School District Superintendent Dr. Becky Meyer and the school administration as a whole, Johansen said she wouldn't be where she's at today.

All-in-all, Johansen, who also recently became the first female in Idaho to become USA Wrestling "Silver" certified in the coaching ranks, said Idaho continues to make tremendous strides in girls wrestling.

"I'm so grateful to be Idaho's representative this year," Johansen said. "I think there is a great opportunity for women to get into coaching wrestling ... the door is wide open. Hopefully, when they see things like this happen, they'll know that there is a place for them. That's my ultimate why — for girls to know there is a place in this sport for them, for woman coaches to realize there is a place for them, and for them all to know they bring tremendous value."