GUILFORD ADDS SOCCER COACHES TO ATHLETICS STAFF

Greensboro, NC (08/29/00) -- Guilford College athletic director Mike Ketchum '78 announced the appointment of Dax Baker as an assistant men's soccer coach and Mark Johnston as an assistant women's soccer coach Tuesday. Both men enjoyed accomplished soccer careers at Greensboro Grimsley High School before continuing their careers at local colleges.

Guilford’s only four-time All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) soccer player, Baker joins Coach Liam Behrens' men's soccer staff as an undergraduate assistant coach in 2000. He will continue towards his physical education degree while helping this year’s team. The Greensboro resident concluded his career last fall with 43 points (13 goals, 17 assists) in 65 career matches. He ranks second on Guilford’s career assists chart and seventh among the program’s career points and goals leaders.

A center midfielder, Baker earned first team all-league honors in 1995, 1996 and 1999 and second-team laurels in 1997. He led the Quakers with a career-high 14 points (4g, 6a) as a rookie and finished his career as the team’s third-leading scorer with 12 points (4g, 4a). Baker received the team’s Most Valuable Player Award in 1999.

Baker was a three-time All-Metro 4-A Conference soccer player for Coach Herk DeGraw’s Grimsley team. He received all-state honors one season and was a two-time all-region pick.

Johnston joins first-year head coach Forrest Collier's '95 staff after three seasons assisting the women’s soccer team at Greensboro College. He earned all-state and all-conference honors at Grimsley before continuing his soccer career at Appalachian State for two years. He transferred to Greensboro College in 1987 and played two seasons with the Pride before graduating in 1989 with an English degree. Johnston captained the team and earned All-Dixie Conference laurels as a senior.

After graduation, Johnston worked as an assistant director for the North Carolina Youth Soccer Association (NCYSA). He worked with coaching clinics and schools, which trained youth and high school soccer coaches throughout the state. He also oversaw the NCYSA’s Classic youth soccer program.

Johnston started his coaching career in the NCYSA classic ranks and took the '76 Greensboro Aces’ boys' team from the B Division to the A Division and back-to-back state final appearances in 1992 and 1993. He also assisted the Greensboro Shamrock Rovers girls’ club and now directs the U-15 Jamestown Jammers, an A Division boys’ team.

Johnston holds a national diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and a "D" license from the United States Soccer Federation. His brother, Mike, is an assistant women’s soccer coach at Central Florida.