Ashley Johnston has now completed three seasons as head gymnastics coach of the program she once competed for as a collegiate gymnast. Johnston’s third season at Alabama saw the Crimson Tide go from winning one regular season conference meet to securing a spot in the NCAA Championship Semifinals after scoring a season high in the regional final.

Alabama’s season ended in the semifinals for the second straight season.

The Alabama head coach, along with associate head coach Justin Spring, sat down with BamaCentral to discuss last season, what it will take to win a national championship, how the house settlement could affect gymnastics, fan expectations, offseason schedule, the future of the program and more.

You can read the full Q&A with Johnston and Spring below:

Q. How would you describe last season?

ASHLEY JOHNSTON: “Last year was a year of breakthroughs. I think as a coach, there’s nothing more exciting than seeing your team step into the most critical moment of the season and be your best. So to have that breakthrough in the moment that mattered most at regional championships, at home being clutch right down to the wire at the end, was such an incredible breakthrough, and I think, speaks volumes about the culture they’ve built, the leadership they’ve developed and how they set the foundation for years to come.”

Q. Why did this team need a longer runway? How much did the sick week (ahead of the Oklahoma meet) affect the rest of the season?

ASHLEY JOHNSTON: “I think our team had to grow up fast. We came in as a younger team, a lot of leadership turnover, a lot of returners that hadn’t competed before and didn’t have that experience. And when a few injuries, setbacks, sicknesses happened, I think they found themselves in a position where they were prepared gymnastically, but they weren’t quite ready to take on the moment. I think they had to really look at the opportunity in front of them and figure out how to expedite their journey to becoming prepared and ready. And it’s really tough to do that in the midst of high-pressure SEC matchups every weekend, feeling fatigue, feeling all the hard things in the midst of the season and still going out and attacking it. And so when I look back at how this team developed the skills to take on hard moments, I think that’s what I’m most proud of and what I’m most excited about as we go into next year.”

Q. For Justin, this was your first season with the title of associate head coach. How did that role change things for you, and what was this past season like for you?

JUSTIN SPRING: “I don’t think that role changed anything in my approach. I think I’ve always poured my heart and soul into anything that I’m doing. I’m kind of like an all-in [person], like if we’re going to do this, we’re going to pick up trash off the floor or lead the program through the highs and lows of the season. It just doesn’t matter, right? I think Greg Byrne actually talks about that all the time. He’s not above doing any job that’s necessary to help this place be great, and that’s always been my approach to anything I’ve been a part of.”

Q. For Ashley, you were part of national championship teams as a gymnast at Alabama. Is it still the same characteristics and qualities that make up a championship team, or are things different with the the changing landscape of the sport?

ASHLEY JOHNSTON: “I think it takes what it takes to be a championship team, but how you go about doing that changes drastically from year to year. I think as athletes change in thought processes, preparation, tools, resources that are available to become your best, it takes a different approach for a coach to really connect, understand your player and understand like what is that light switch that helps an athlete break through and become their best? And sometimes that takes two months, and sometimes that takes four years, and sometimes that takes 10 years, and you never actually fully get to see that. 

“But it takes what it takes. It takes a high standard. It takes being extraordinary. You can’t just go about doing the ordinary things to become the best in the country. It takes more. And I think it’s about understanding your players and helping them own that journey to deciding if they want to do that, and if they want to buy in.”

Q. Alabama hasn’t made it to the final night of competition since the format switched from six to four teams in 2019. (Last Super Six appearance was 2017.) What is it going to take to get to where you are competing the last night of the season?

ASHLEY JOHNSTON: ‘It’s going to take continuing to do above and beyond each year to be able to reach that peak. We talk about it as a group all the time, and I think last year again really laid the foundation to raise the standard, to get better at battling hard moments, to get better at holding teammates accountable to that, to raise our ceiling, to open up what that potential looks like. As we go into this upcoming year, we have some great recruits, outstanding talent coming in, and I think that alone already raises our ceiling. And now it’s about how they buy in, invest in the program and the values to ultimately reach that level of excellence.”

JUSTIN SPRING: “I think it takes time to get everyone in alignment with what it takes, and I think we’ve defined that pretty clearly a couple times to say the least. But to hear it, to understand it, and then to actually have an action plan of how that shows up in all the spaces in our program, I think is what just takes time. It’s enough to maybe be able to recite some of our core values, but then to talk about how that comes up in the recruiting space, the practice space, the team house or apartment, or in a competition, is just something entirely different. And I think we’re getting there. 

“I think this team went through— going back to two questions before— went through a lot of hurt, went through a lot of suffering to be able to have the breakthroughs it took to get it, of what it takes to be one of the best teams in the SEC, let alone challenging to make a final four. And so it’s moments like that where the light bulb goes off, ‘I thought it was actually ready, and it wasn’t.’ And also really hard lessons, but they’re the lessons that make you better. So we had an extreme amount of growth this year through some hard.”

Q. With the impending house settlement, the number of scholarships available for gymnastics jumps from 12 to 20. I’m assuming most gymnastics programs aren’t going to be able to fully fund eight more scholarships. Is that a fair assumption, and how do those numbers affect your program?

ASHLEY JOHNSTON: “That is such a good question, and until the house settlement settles, I think all of that is still a little bit of uncertainty just navigating decisions in the midst of not knowing the final answers. Something we talk a lot about as a department, is there are changes happening everywhere, and I’m incredibly thankful to be at the University of Alabama— a place that really is dedicated to being the best in the country in all sports in all ways and having broad-based programming and focusing on developing our student athletes at the highest level. None of that’s going to change, and so I’m thankful to be here in the midst of an unprecedented time in the NCAA.”

Q. How much of a boost is it getting an extra year from Corinne Bunagan and Jordyn Paradise?

ASHLEY JOHNSTON: “We’re so excited for Corinne and Jordyn. They’ve both battled through their own stories of adversity and injury. Corinne, you know, not really being in the competitive lineup mix the first two years of her career, even three years, really. And then Jordyn having a year of injury, sitting on the sideline as she had torn an ACL and watching her team have an outstanding year last year and not getting to fully be a part of that. 

“I think their stories have really prompted this perspective and this gratitude for what this experience is all about. They truly operate with a ‘I get to do this,’ and not a, ‘I have to do this,’ and so I’m really excited about not just what they bring competitively, but what they bring from a leadership standpoint, a perspective standpoint, and how that helps develop our young people and grow through this program, learning that type of perspective.”

Q. Is Corinne the perfect example for you to show younger gymnasts in the program that maybe aren’t seeing the role they want right away of patience and dedication to the program?

ASHLEY JOHNSTON: “I love that you said that because I couldn’t agree more. Our program is one that you come here, and you get better. We’re going to recruit the best talent, and at the same time, we’re going to pour every ounce of our coaching ability, of mentorship into helping them become even better. Corinne is a great example of that and having breakthrough performances, and then ultimately being a standout and an All American on vault. I know vault coach [Justin] over here is really excited to have two of the top vaulters back in the mix next year as well.”

Q. How excited you are about some of the young pieces on the roster returning, the talent coming in and what the program looks like moving forward?

JUSTIN SPRING: “We had a pretty startling percentage of new routines or first-time competitive routines, either from returners or from our incoming class. Talent is great, but in the end, the experience of going through a season, feeling the hard of the highs and lows throughout the season. I think this was a freshman class that Love Birt ended up not even having that competitive opportunity and experience and Brooke Dennis. I think both of them are going to come in and make a splash. And then obviously our incoming freshmen are going to be a fantastic addition to a pretty solid team, again with retaining Jordyn and Corrine. We’re losing some pretty epic routines from seniors, but I think when you look at the whole from potential new routines that are going to be coming back or getting added into our lineups, it’s a really exciting. I think we’re really excited for what this team’s high end is next year.”

ASHLEY JOHNSTON: “We were just in Salt Lake City for a week, and we had a series of coaches meetings and then DP nationals, which is the the top competitive atmosphere for our club program gymnasts. At that event, we had two of our incomers that were competing. So Jasmine Cawley got second all-around in the country. Just a lights-out competitor, dynamic, fun, incredible personality, and like she is going to be a game changer for our program. From the recruiting process, we identified her quickly as somebody that not just had what it took gymnastically, but from a culture standpoint, a leadership standpoint. She’s already proving her ability to get her teammates to buy in in the club world, and so we’re just so excited to see how she steps in and makes an impact here in just a couple months.

“McKenzie Matters is another incoming freshman that competed at DP. She ended up fourth all-around, is another really standout competitor.  I think what is so obvious about the recruiting process with them is they aligned so well with our values, with our culture, what we’re creating. They really embody this fierce joy concept, this blend of being passionate and fiery about going after the things they want, but doing it with a perspective of I get to do this, and nobody’s forcing me into it. And I think it takes that level of ownership to be able to go from good to great, to close the gap on really elevating our ceiling, helping this team do something that they’ve never done before. 

“And then rounding out that class,  we’ve got Azaraya Ra-Akbar coming in, who is a rockstar from Canada. She competes on their national team on some of the biggest international stages. And Derin Tanriyasükür coming from Turkey. She was our new addition. We’re really excited about how all of our incomers are going to elevate this roster.”

Q. What’s on the do-list in the offseason for a college gymnastics coach? What is summer like?

JUSTIN SPRING: “We trick ourselves as coaches every year. You’re seeing the end of season, and you’re like, ‘Ah, almost to the summer.’ And then you forget in setting yourself up that way that summer’s actually the worst time of year for us as far as travel, additional commitments, you’re hosting and running camps with top prospects coming in from all over the country. It’s the epicenter of recruiting, as far as ramping up and getting your top talent on campus. You can make contact with those recruits June 15, but the prep work for that is an undertaking, to say the least.

“So I think we’ve all carved out about a 10 day break where we’re leaving from Tuscaloosa with families, but I think outside of that, summer is the most chaotic and hectic time of our entire lives— mostly because of the lack of structure, although we have volunteer practices that we can be at because of the safety exemption in gymnastics. So nothing stops, everything ramps up. We’re not competing, but the developmental process is there— recruiting, camps, fundraising and all the fun stuff. 

Q. What is the summer recruiting process like?

ASHLEY JOHNSTON: “We’re recruiting 2027s next. So starting June 15, any athlete that’s going into their junior year of high school is who we can initially make contact with. And so leading up to that, we’re visiting in gyms, we’re getting on calls with coaches trying to just start to narrow our pool of who are we really going to target and going after who do we think is going to be a great fit for our program. And then starting June 15, we can have all the contact in the world via phone calls, Zoom calls, things like that. And then going into August 1 is when we can actually have face-to-face contact, where they can come on campus, or we can go visit them in their hometowns. So it’s gonna get busy, to say the least.”

JUSTIN SPRING: “But also with the uncertainty of the house settlement, we are also still actively recruiting some way to bolster our roster in any way with people that haven’t found a home yet, maybe a great one-eventer, possibly a two-eventer. The transfer portal is still, I would say, is not still, but it’s actually more so ramping up in our sport. It’s been crazy for basketball and football, but I think our field is finally realizing there’s an opportunity to see if I can find a better home or a new home. I don’t think it was done as often whereas now you’re seeing a lot of really top-tier athletes that came into a maybe a mid-level program that are now maybe saying, I want to be part of the SEC, or I want to be part of a national-championship caliber program. And so that’s happening a lot more this year.”

Q. What do you want Alabama gymnastics fans to learn from last season? What do you want their expectations to be of Alabama gymnastics?

ASHLEY JOHNSTON: “The phrase we commonly use is to respect the past and create the future. And I think what got us here is not going to be what gets us to the next place. And that’s a tough breakdown, right? Tradition is really important at Alabama, and how we’ve done things, and how we operate, and I think the the way we’ve gone about developing excellence. Sarah Patterson used to always say, ‘Being a champion in the gym, outside the gym and in the community.’ None of those pieces are ever going to change,  but how we go about doing it is going to look different. So it’s going to take elevating what our facilities look like, how we bring people in, how we host them, what the experience is, how we pour into a well-being standpoint.

“Every program across the country is elevating their standard of what it takes to be great, and so again, that’s where what got us here isn’t going to be what get us to the next place. We have to elevate all of those areas in order to elevate our results. And so I think just continuing to educate people, helping our fan base understand that parity in gymnastics is at the highest level it’s ever been. That hasn’t always been the case for gymnastics. There used to be about eight teams that were really premier, and then the rest of the country. Now, it’s probably about 30 teams that could all win a national championship, and 30 programs that are all elevating what that standard is on their campuses and in their communities. 

“And so we’re excited to continue to call people in to being a part of our mission now, what that looks like and having an army of people that are passionate about taking Alabama gymnastics to the next level, and sometimes that’s uncomfortable. As we challenge our team all the time to look at uncomfortable moments and attack them and be great in them, I look at that for our fanbase as well. We’re at a place in college gymnastics that is a level playing field, and we’ve got to look at some of these hard decisions and attack them head on, and learn how to thrive in the midst of a lot of challenges in this landscape right now, and we’re trying to call people in to be a part of that. 

“I think our athletes do an incredible job of connecting in the community and being leaders in that space. And ultimately, by investing in Alabama gymnastics, you’re investing in future CEOs, you’re investing in future doctors, you’re investing in difference-makers who are going to change this world. And that all starts right here, where we can all be difference-makers for them.”