With the regular season opener approximately a month away, Austin head girls basketball coach Todd Johnson made the decision to not have his team in limbo this season and he resigned from the position recently.

Johnson, who is battling some health issues, is looking at having surgery in the near future and he doesn’t want to have to miss a significant part of the upcoming Packer season.

“It has nothing to do with anything but my own health,” Johnson said. “I just felt like the girls should have some continuity with a coach so I wouldn’t have to leave and then come back again. It just seemed like the right time.”

Johnson graduated from AHS in 1976 and he’s been coaching various sports at the high school level since 1981. It was tough for Johnson to walk away from the game of basketball, but he figured that was what is best for the team.

“I love working with the kids and the other coaches. It was hard telling them, because you spend a lot of time with them. To step away from them is really difficult, but at some point you have to do it,” Johnson said. “I’ve enjoyed my time and it’s been a lot of fun. I want to thank the town for supporting the girls and I hope they continue to support them.”

At Bloomington Jefferson, Johnson was a varsity assistant on a team that won three state titles in his 18 seasons there. Austin went 14-12 overall last season and it was 45-59 overall over the past four seasons under Johnson.

The Packers will open their season at Stewartville 7:15 p.m. Nov. 29.