The Johnston High School Athletics department will be appointing Cranston’s Justin Erickson as its new athletics director next week following the recent retirement of Keith Cory, who was the Panthers’ AD since 2014.

Erickson, 38, has served as Cranston’s middle school athletic director since 2017, where he oversaw the sports department of four schools. He is a Cranston West graduate and has coached lacrosse and football at his alma mater in that time as well.

Erickson received the first ever Michael Palmer award in 2002, which is given to players that demonstrate selfless play on the field. He is also part of the executive board for the Cranston Hall of Fame, Cranston Athletics Hall of Fame, and CLCF.

When the job posting became available last month, Erickson jumped at the chance to take it.

“Cranston was a part-time job, Johnston was a full-time position. The opportunity was too good to pass up. At Cranston, I learned a lot, I learned about working with the leagues, bussing. (Cranston Athletic Director) Mike Traficante has been a great mentor and taught me everything and really took me under his wing. Seven years ago I never pictured that I would be an athletic director. I was happily coaching football and lacrosse at Cranston West. With this I can give back to the children in the community and help them out,” said Erickson.

Some of Erickson’s goals include bringing new uniforms to Johnston’s teams and also raising the level of competition. None of Johnston’s teams compete at the Division I level and many have dropped to the Division III and IV ranks over the past few seasons. Johnston has historically had Division I teams, including the basketball programs. The boys currently compete in Division II and the girls Division IV.

“First thing we’re doing is trying to get new matching uniforms, trying to get that Johnston Columbia blue. We want that school pride. Also, in Cranston, our teams are in the higher divisions. I think with the right tools, we can to be neck and neck with those teams,” said Erickson.

The biggest hurdle lately has been the rising number of student-athletes selecting private schools over public programs. Erickson is looking to retain as many students as possible and believes that the high school offers enough amenities to get the job done. Johnston’s facilities have hosted tournaments such as the Rhode Island Interscholastic League soccer championships since Cory’s arrival, as well as middle school basketball championships and various youth tournaments.

“We need to establish that Johnston pride, we need to make that Panther pride stand out. We need to show that we have top-notch facilities, we have a top-notch athletic program, and it all starts by reaching out to both the middle school and high school,” said Erickson.

NOTE: As for his coaching duties in Cranston, Erickson will be stepping away from the lacrosse program to focus his full attention on Johnston athletics.