Mention the name Johnny Olsen to folks in Pascagoula and you will get a lot of comments: Great high school baseball and football player at PHS; record-setting outfielder for Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College and Tulane University; assistant baseball coach at Pascagoula High School; head coach at PHS; and the man who put Resurrection Catholic School baseball back on the map.
What you might not hear is this: Coach Olsen (hey, once a coach, always a coach) doesn’t let any grass grow under his feet. Drive around town during the day and you might find Olsen on a zero-turn lawn mower or rolling paint on a house. Johnny O, as he’s affectionately called, doesn’t sit in his recliner and watch TV when the sun is shining.
So when Olsen, a Catholic who went to then Our Lady of Victories in elementary school, received a call from RCS to come out of retirement in 2017 and take over the infant baseball program he didn’t have to be asked twice. He felt it was sort of returning to his roots.
Six years later in 2022 RCS won its first-ever state baseball championship and compiled a stellar 33-5 record. Last year after Olsen stepped down the Eagles won state again under Aaron Frederick.
Friday night before RCS’s opening-round playoff game against Noxapater, the school gave back to coach Olsen by having his number 13 entered into the school’s new Ring of Honor.
“This means the world,” Olsen said before the Eagles 13-0 victory over Noxapater. “It’s an honor and pleasure being out here and working with these young men, parents, and administration. It’s been a life changer for me and my wife (Carol).
“We were in public school for 28 years. When I retired from Pascagoula I never had the intention of ever coaching again. When this opportunity came along I didn’t know what I was getting into and didn’t know what to expect. It’s just been a great journey.’’
RCS is now coached by Aaron Frederick, who stepped in last year after the passing of head coach Lee Tingle. The Eagles didn’t miss a beat and won their second straight state championship.
Olsen’s dream is for RCS to continue the diamond success.
“I’m hoping it will continue with what we’ve done with Aaron,” Olsen said. “He has done an unbelievable job taking over in a tough situation and carried on what we started.
“Going to Jackson for three straight years … not a whole lot of people can say that. Our district record, I think we’ve won 56 straight. I don’t think that will ever be beat.’’
Assistant coach Devon Decoteau said the Ring of Honor is coach Frederick’s idea.
“These kids need to see and understand what coaches mean to them and the community,” Decoteau said. “Coach Olsen came in here and brought this program to a place we never thought it could be. For those kids to see coaches care about them, mentor them, teach them the game of baseball, it’s just a great thing to watch.’’
Olsen’s 33-year record as a head coach is an impressive 686-307. The Panthers won two state championships under his tutelage as an assistant in 1983 and as head coach in 1996 and he was twice named Mississippi Coach of the Year. The Panthers claimed 17 district titles, three South State crowns, and finished runner-up once.
During his tenure at RCS, the Eagles finished 130-43 and won six district titles and two south state titles in addition to the 2022 championship.
