Greenville SC - The NCCAA is pleased to announce Avery Johnston of Redeemer University as the 2022 NCCAA Joe & Q Harding Award Recipient for Division I Women’s Soccer. 
 
From Pickering, Ontario, Canada, Johnston knows what rock bottom feels like. At the age of 10, she was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis and since began a journey of doctors’ visits, MRIs, and debilitating health conditions. Growing up with a love of soccer, this news rocked her world. Yet, it was through this she began to form a real and deep relationship with God, reading His Word and talking to Him. For the past three summers Johnston has been involved with Athletes in Action (AIA), whose mission is to find victory beyond competition through integration of faith, life, and sport, by developing the total athlete. She has written devotions for AIA and has helped run multiple soccer camps throughout Ontario. She is now trying to start an AIA campus club at Redeemer, hoping to further establish a Christ-centered purpose for all of Redeemer athletics.
 
On the pitch, the junior has shared time in the goal and at midfield. With two games in goal, she tallied 14 saves and allowed only 1 goal. On the field, she has helped lead her team to a season record of 7-3-2 scoring 1 goal and accruing no yellow or red cards. For the Royals, she has been honored to receive the 2019 Women’s Outdoor Rookie of the Year, 2020 Royal Award, and 2021 David Mantel Outstanding Character Award. This year alone, she was named Ontario Collegiate Athletic Association, Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association, and NCCAA Student-Athlete of the Week. Johnston studies Kinesiology and holds a 11.4 GPA on a 12.0 scale. She has been recognized with numerous academic scholarships and awards such as Dean’s Honor List, Provost Honor List, and the Health and Sciences Excellence Award.
 
Following the example of her coaches, Johnston wants her team to be a place where everyone, no matter skill, ability, or talent, feels incredibly loved and included. She says, “I know what it is like to feel left out or like I am not good enough on a team, so I try really hard to not let others feel this way. I know I am not perfect, and I mess up often, but God uses imperfect people, and I hope that others can know that too.”
 
Other Finalist
Kelsey Goodson, Regent University
 
Award Description
Joe served multiple terms as NCCAA Men’s Soccer chair while coaching at Huntington University and Moody Bible Institute. His teams collected three NCCAA National Championships, and Joe earned both the NISOA Honor Award and the NCCAA Frank Jewell Award for his excellence and integrity in coaching. His most recent honor was as an inductee into the Malone University Hall of Fame (2021). Carol, or as all her friends know her, Q, was a five sport standout at Wheaton College. Throughout the years, while a university professor and assistant coach to Joe, she was an encourager and advocate for NCCAA, especially within the sport of soccer. She was a prayer warrior for Joe and his student-athletes and also for many of Joe’s opposing coaches and peers, always caring more for those leaders than for the result of the matches. The NCCAA is honored to be able to present this award in the names of Joe and Carol “Q” Harding.
 

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