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Faith Johnson Patterson leaves DeLaSalle for Eden Prairie girls' basketball

By Amelia Rayno, Star Tribune, 07/24/15, 12:45PM CDT

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Veteran coach has eight state championships combined at DeLaSalle and Minneapolis North


Faith Johnson Patterson and DeLaSalle celebrated their 2011 Class 3A girls' basketball championship.

Faith Johnson Patterson is moving on.

After nearly 20 years of setting the bar for high school girls’ basketball in Minneapolis proper, the former DeLaSalle coach officially accepted the girls basketball head coaching position at Eden Prairie on Friday.

“It’s an exciting opportunity,” she said. “It’s the next chapter in my journey coaching at the high school level. I really feel that it will be good for me.”

Eden Prairie advanced to last season’s Section 6AAAA semifinal before falling to Minnetonka, 73-58. Former Eagles coach Chris Carr accepted the Minnetonka boys head coaching position last month.

Johnson Patterson, who has led her teams at Minneapolis North and DeLaSalle to a combined eight state championships since 1995, will meet with her Eagles players for the first time next week after taking nearly two months to make her decision.

In the change, Johnson Patterson will also be returning to normalcy.

Inundated with myriad health issues — Johnson Patterson, 52, had surgery for herniated discs in her back and neck and was diagnosed with Paget’s disease, among other things — the coach sat out most of last season while her team went 19-5 and lost in the Section 3AAA championship.

“I was on a lot of medication, and it was the most incredible pain I’ve ever experienced,” said Johnson Patterson, who was inducted into the Minnesota girls basketball coaches Hall of Fame in 2012. “I had a rough year and I feel like I’ve changed quite a bit … it causes you just to kind of look at things and appreciate opportunities more. But I’m excited because I feel rejuvenated as a coach. I don’t think I realized I wasn’t rejuvenated.”

Johnson Patterson cited the opportunity to grow for her and her long-standing staff — which includes her husband, John Patterson — as well as the program’s abundant resources as the key draws in her decision.

Eden Prairie is home to some of the nicer facilities in the Twin Cities metro area and the basketball teams have access to on-site weight training. At Eden Prairie, Johnson Patterson will also have access to a feeder program for the first time in her coaching career.

– emotionally, mentally, physically,” she said. “When you have the excitement of new beginnings, it just gives you another level of energy and drive. As a coach, I’m excited about that.”

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