Hall of Fame
Rich Johns was one of Potsdam’s finest tennis players. In his senior year, 1972, Rich won the SUNYAC singles championship and combined with his brother, Bill, to place third in the doubles championship.
Rich started his college career at SUNY Adirondack in Glens Falls, NY from 1968-1969 and graduated from Potsdam in 1972. He has been honored by both colleges with their highest awards given to an alumnus. In 1997 Potsdam honored Rich with the Minerva Award and in 2018, SUNY Adirondack inducted him into their inaugural class of the Trailblazer Society.
Rich taught elementary and middle school as well as coached tennis in Saratoga Springs (NY) for 38 years. His highly recognized girls’ tennis teams were traditionally among the top teams in New York State. Under his guidance Saratoga won 17 League Titles, 9 Sectional Team Titles, and holds the Section II record for Class AA with 85 consecutive wins and a record of 107–2 during that period. Rich was honored with the USTA National Starfish Award (2009) given in recognition of his “no-cut” tennis program and his positive impact on hundreds of players, Racquet Sports Industry as their National High School Coach of the Year (2010), and the Saratoga Springs Rotary Education Foundation Award (2010) for his distinguished-exceptional leadership and commitment to education and community service. In January 2011, the USTA-Eastern Section presented Rich the High School Coach of the Year Award.
Rich was honored by SUNY Potsdam, SUNY Adirondack, the Saratoga Springs School District, and the South Glens Falls Community by inducting him into their Athletic and Community Pride Hall of Fames. In 2018, Rich was inducted into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame receiving the John Cahill Award for community service. In 2023 Rich received the NYS School Administration Association Excelsior Award for his leadership and continued work in the field of education through his 501c3 Charitable Organization, Act With Respect Always. Rich has now seen over tens of thousands of individuals of all ages. He has been endorsed by Coach Mike Krzyzewski of Duke University, CBS Commentators Dottie Pepper and Andrew Catalon and ESPN Announcer Tim Welsh to name a few.
