Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathy Johnson.
Hi Kathy, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Basketball has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I grew up playing competitively, and the game gave me experiences that shaped who I am today. Beyond the competition, basketball taught me discipline, resilience, teamwork, and confidence. It also showed me how much the right coaching environment can influence a child’s confidence and love for the game.
In 2008, while I was in graduate school at UT, I was looking for something fulfilling outside of my studies and decided to start coaching with the Austin Wildcats. What began as a way to reconnect with the game and share my knowledge quickly became something much more meaningful. I discovered how rewarding it was to help young athletes develop their skills, build confidence, and find their own love for basketball. That experience stayed with me and ultimately helped shape the vision for the Wildcats program we are rebuilding today.
The original Austin Wildcats program was founded in 1999 by Darrel Smith and a group of like-minded parents who believed that all kids deserved the opportunity to develop and compete. Their vision was to create a program where development came before winning—a place where young athletes could learn the game, build confidence, and grow through competition without the pressure of results defining their experience. And that is what Wildcats did for over 20 years.
After I became a parent, I started thinking more about the kind of sports experience I wanted for my own children. Youth sports have changed significantly since I was growing up. There are incredible opportunities available today, but there is also a lot of pressure on families to specialize early, join select teams young, and treat every season as though it determines a child’s future. I wanted to create something that gave kids the opportunity to learn and compete without losing the joy that makes them fall in love with sports in the first place.
This was the perfect opportunity to bring Wildcats back after the program had paused following COVID.
I founded ATX Wildcats Basketball, Incorporated as a nonprofit with a renewed focus on the same principles that inspired the original program: teaching fundamentals, developing basketball IQ, and giving kids the opportunity to grow in a positive, supportive environment. Darrel is still involved with Wildcats today, which makes the connection between the original program and what we are building now especially meaningful.
Today, we serve families in the Lakeway, Bee Cave, Spicewood, Dripping Springs, and surrounding Austin communities. Our clinics are designed to be instructional, welcoming, and fun, with an emphasis on understanding the “why” behind the skills we teach. We want kids to learn how to make decisions, compete, work through mistakes, and recognize that it’s okay to fail. After all failure is how we learn!
We are still in the early stages of rebuilding the program, but the response from families has been incredibly encouraging. My hope is to grow Wildcats into a lasting community organization where children can begin their basketball journey, develop at their own pace, and eventually pursue more competitive opportunities when they are ready.
Ultimately, I want kids to leave Wildcats with more than basketball skills. I want them to develop confidence, a strong work ethic, meaningful friendships, and a lifelong love for being active. If we can help them become better basketball players while also helping them grow as people, then we’re accomplishing what we set out to do.
That’s the heart of our mission: Basketball is taught here.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Restarting a program is never easy, especially when you are essentially building it from scratch. We have the history and foundation of the original Wildcats, but reintroducing the program to a new generation of families takes time. Much of our growth has come through relationships, word of mouth, and the experiences families have had with us. We are relying on people who believe in what we are doing to help spread the word, and that kind of growth is meaningful, but it doesn’t happen overnight.
One of the bigger challenges has been navigating how much the youth sports landscape has changed. There is so much more pressure on families today to start early, specialize, join select teams, and make sure their children aren’t falling behind. I understand where that anxiety comes from—parents want to give their kids every opportunity. But I also think we have to remind ourselves that these are elementary school children. They have time!
Part of what we’re trying to do at Wildcats is reassure families that their child doesn’t need to be doing everything right now to have a future in basketball. They can come to a clinic once a week, learn something new, and then pick up a ball at home because they feel inspired to practice—not because they or their parents are worried about keeping up. That self-driven motivation is something we really want to protect and emphasize.
We want kids to learn how to compete, but we don’t believe they need to be concerned about exposure, rankings, or whether they’re on the right team at eight or nine years old. Those things can come later, if and when a child is ready and wants to pursue them. Right now, they should have the freedom to learn, make mistakes, play other sports, and just enjoy being kids.
So yes, there are challenges in rebuilding a program and communicating a philosophy that sometimes runs counter to the current youth sports culture. But I also think that’s what makes the work important and rewarding. Every time a parent tells us their child is excited to come back, or we see a player gain confidence and do something they couldn’t do before it reinforces why we’re doing this. We’re not trying to build the biggest program as quickly as possible. We’re trying to build something that lasts and gives kids a healthy, meaningful relationship with the game.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
What sets us apart is our development-first approach and our commitment to being honest with families about what youth basketball should be. We aren’t trying to sell parents a team their child needs to be on or a dream of playing college basketball. We are here to teach the game, build a strong foundation, and give kids the opportunity to discover their own potential.
There is nothing wrong with having big dreams, and we would love to see Wildcats players go on to compete at the highest levels if that’s what they want. But we don’t believe elementary school children need to be worried about exposure, rankings, or whether they’re on the right select team. They have plenty of time to learn, play other sports, make mistakes, and simply enjoy being kids.
Our philosophy is to teach them the fundamentals, the “why” behind each part of the game, and how to compete. We want them to understand that improvement comes from effort, practice and perseverance. **Teach them how to compete. Let winning follow.**
We also believe youth sports should build the person, not just the player. Most children won’t go on to play college or professional basketball, but that doesn’t make their experience any less valuable. Basketball teaches discipline, resilience, accountability, teamwork, leadership, and how to handle both success and failure. Those are lessons that will serve them long after their playing days are over.
Ultimately, we want families to know that Wildcats is a place where their child’s development comes first. We’re not selling a promise about where basketball will take them. We’re giving them the tools, confidence, and love for the game to decide how far they want to go.
How do you define success?
I think most people would define success for a nonprofit like Wildcats as a program that continues to grow year after year, and I certainly hope we achieve that. Growth would mean we’re reaching more families, creating more opportunities for kids, and building something that can serve our community for years to come. But for me, success is also something I get to see every single week.
It’s the six-year-old who makes their first basket and can’t stop smiling. It’s the child who finally gets the between-the-legs dribble and looks up in complete shock and excitement because they can’t believe they just did it. It’s watching a player who struggled with layups begin to make them consistently.
Those moments may seem small from the outside, but to that child, they’re huge. They’re learning that they can do hard things, that practice makes a difference, and that they are capable of more than they thought. That’s where confidence comes from.
And then there are the moments when you look around the gym and see kids sweating, working hard, and still smiling and laughing with each other. They’re having fun. They want to be there. To me, that’s one of the clearest signs that we’re doing something right.
Of course, I want Wildcats to grow, and I would love to see our players go on to make school teams when they’re older, compete at higher levels, or pursue basketball as far as their dreams take them. But I don’t want us to lose sight of what makes those opportunities possible in the first place: a strong, fundamental foundation, confidence, and a genuine love for the game.
If we can help a child discover what they’re capable of, teach them to embrace the work it takes to improve, and give them an experience that makes them want to keep playing, then we’ve succeeded. The wins, the teams, and the bigger milestones can follow. But those smiles, those firsts, and that joy in the gym—that’s the success I get to see every week, and it’s what makes this work so rewarding.
Pricing:
- $35 per clinic attended
- Clinics are meant to be flexible to accommodate busy family schedules. You pay only for clinics you attend.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://atxwildcats.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austin_wildcats_basketball?stkn=dzA4NDNieTIxZjZz&utm_source=qr
