New England Intensity


Women's Tackle Football

Johnny Johnson

Head Coach

Years With Team:  3

Hometown:  Ashland, Massachusetts

Coach Johnson's Bio:

John Johnson will enter his 3rd consecutive season with the Intensity in 2012.   As the Defensive Coordinator in 2011, the Intensity broke virtually every defensive record (including total points allowed, average points allowed per game, most interceptions and most points scored by the defense.  His efforts were integral in the playoff run of the Intensity that went all the way to the Championship Game.

When he is not coaching the Intensity, Coach Johnson is working at the Brandon Residential Treatment Center as a Supervisor of one of its' most acute units.  He has been working with adolescents with social, emotional and behavioral difficulties for the past 9 years.

Coach Johnson has a remarkable way of engaging players in the game and making it fun.  He is extremely passionate about football and about helping the players earn and enjoy success on the field.  John stresses that if an athlete can play as part of a team they can do anything they put their minds to.

If ever the personification of a person who eats, sleeps and breathes football existed, it is Coach Johnson (just ask his co-worker and a player on the Intensity, Lesley Lopes).   Whenever he is not on the field, he is reading books about football, watching game film, scouting games, and working as hard as he possibly can so that he can best help his players improve.

In addition to coaching with the Intensity, Coach Johnson currently coaches at Framingham (Massachusetts) High School as the Freshman Head Coach and Varsity Assistant Coach.  He also is the Defensive Coordinator of the Boston Bandits Semi-Pro Football Team, of which he was a member for 9 years, winning 4 NEFL Championships during his career. 

He has previously held coaching positions at the John D. O'Bryant High School in Boston from 2003-2009 as the Varsity Linebacker's Coach and Junior Varsity Defensive Coordinator.  His contributions there helped O'Bryant experience their first ever undefeated season (10-0) in 2008. 

John has attended numerous football clinics at local colleges and studied the game for more than 14 years. 

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Jim Callahan

 

Years With Team:  4

Coach Callahan's Bio

James Callahan has over 20 years of experience playing and coaching the game of football. James began playing football at the age of 9 for Lena Park, a Boston inner city football program. He played inner city football until going to high school where he played running back and linebacker/cornerback for 4 years at Concord Carlisle High School. During his senior year he was voted as Captain on the football program and was awarded the Most Valuable Player in the Thanksgiving Day game.

After high school, James played linebacker for several years at the Semi-Pro football level for the Boston Bandits in the New England Football League. Shortly after retiring from the NEFL due to two major knee surgeries, James got into coaching the game at the Pop Warner level and the High School level.  He is in his fourth season of coaching with the inner city football program that he started playing in when he was 9 years old. James also is in his second season coaching at Catholic Memorial High School a division 1-football program in West Roxbury, Massachusetts.

As a player and coach James attended many different camps and clinics including Offense/Defense camp and the Frank Glazier clinic. James is continuing his dedication to be a student and a teacher of the game of Football.

 

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Monty Ellison

Offensive Coordinator

Years with the Team:  3

Coach Ellison's Bio

Coach Ellison, a native of Beaufort, North Carolina, has over 34 years of playing and coaching experience.   He comes from a family of football coaches that have led teams at all levels of the sport.  He is a stickler for discipline, fundamentals, technique and execution, believing firmly that adhering to these principles, a team will always either win or be in a position to win.

Coach Ellison has coached at the High School and Collegiate levels, having held several positions at various NCAA Division 1 Top-25 schools.  During his time coaching, 40 of his High School players went on to play at major Division 1 colleges, 17 of whom went on to have careers in the NFL.  Notably, Guy Whimper, Levar Fisher and Brian Simmons. 

An avid believer of constantly evolving and learning more, Coach Ellison hosts two Football Camps, an Elite Quarterback camp for High School QBs and College QBs, and travels the country presenting and instructing at various player and coaching clinics and camps.  He also believes that football is game less about talent but more about heart, mental focus and possessing the “want to” gene.

Since the mid-1990's, Coach Ellison has been running and speaking at clinics and camps throughout the country about the spread offense (specifically the option out of the spread and passing out of the spread), and the 4-2-5 defense.  Both of which were met with substantial skepticism back when first he began coaching.  By the early 2000’s, running these schemes, his team was averaging 38 points per game on offense while giving up just 12.6 points per game.

When not engrossed in all things football-related, Coach Ellison trains K-9s and loves it almost as much as he loves football!

Last but not least, being from the south, Coach Ellison lives and breaths football 24/7/365.

 

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Al Lockhart

Defensive Line Coach, Assistant Offensive Line Coach

Years with the Team:  1

Coach Lockhart's Bio

 

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Galvin Legget

Defensive Backs Coach, Running Backs Coach

Years with the Team:  1

Coach Legget's Bio

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Cliff Ashley

Head Athletic Trainer/Kicking Coach

DOB:  6/19/60

Years With Team:  7

Cliff's Bio:

Cliff is returning to the team for his 7^th season in 2012.

He is nationally certified as an ATC by the National Athletic Trainer's Association and holds a Bachelor's degree in Sports Science/Athletic Training from Colby Sawyer College in NH and a Master's degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology from Northeastern University, where he also taught Athletic Training classes to undergraduates.

Cliff is the former head athletic trainer of 8 years for Berkshire School in Sheffield, MA, has worked with the US Women's Rugby Team, and has experience in both minor league baseball for the AA Portland Sea Dogs and in minor league hockey for the AHL's Maine Mariners (now the Providence Bruins).

He currently works at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

 

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Dr. Paula Cerasoulo

Team Chiropractor

Years With Team:  5

 

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Tricia Donovan

Majority Owner, CFO, League Delegate (as well as WR/DB/PR/KR)

Years With Team:  9

Jersey #:  24

DOB:  9/17

Hometown:  Old Greenwich, Connecticut

Current Residence:   Portsmouth, Rhode Island

College:  Brown University (BAs), University of Rhode Island (MBA)

Favorite Song(s):  Too many to choose, but likes Centerfield, Instant Karma, Molly, Don't Trust Me, Over the Hills and Far Away, Take it on the Run, Piece of My Heart, Dead Flowers, In Between Days, Bad Reputation, Ignition (Remix), Flagpole Sitta, I Want You Back, I'll Melt With You, Mad World, Far Behind, Captain Jack, Promises, Just Like Heaven, Love Drunk, Cool Change, Fix You, Landslide, Viva La Vida, Black Ballon, I Don't Believe You, Now My Heart is Full, and Poker Face

Favorite Movie(s):  Again, too many to choose, but likes Butterfly Effect, Christmas Story, Fox and the Hound, A League of Their Own, Legends of the Fall, Silence of the Lambs, Protocol, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Shot to Kill, Sneakers, Monsters Inc., Witness, Fight Club, ET, and Office Space

Favorite Quote(s):  “You win some, you lose some, you wreck some.”; "It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get back up."; "Exhaust the Little Moment.  Soon it dies.  And be it gash or gold it will not come again in this identical guise."

Interesting Fact:   Tricia held a US Coast Guard Captain’s License for a Ferry/Launch.

 

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Benjamin Brown

Minority Owner/GM/Strength and Conditioning Coach/WRs Coach/Game Day Coordinator/Team Statistician/Team Videographer/Website Administrator

DOB:  3/27/74

Years With Team:  8

Hometown:  Canton, Massachusetts

Current Residence:  Dedham, Massachusetts

College:  Georgia Tech

Favorite Song(s):  “Tester” by Anthrax, “Tribal War” by Buju Banton

Favorite Movie(s):  The Shawshank Redemption, 12 Angry Men

Favorite Quote:  “Well done is better than well said.”  - Benjamin Franklin

Interesting Fact:   Ben holds two national powerlifting records, has run three Boston Marathons and has been a competitive marksmanship competitor and instructor. 

Ben's Bio:

2012 will mark Ben’s ^8th season with the Intensity as Strength and Conditioning Coach, 7^th year as GM/Minority Owner with Majority Owner Tricia Donovan, and 10th season of involvement with Women’s Professional Football. 

Ben was born in Boston, Massachusetts, graduated from Canton High School, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia Tech. 

A Captain in the United States Marine Corps, he has served on active and reserve duty from 1992-present. 

A firm believer in the improving athletic performance through research- and evidence-based knowledge, Ben has earned numerous national accredations and certifications that include:  A Strength and Conditioning Specialist (three times re-certified with distinction) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, a Level 1 Track and Field Coach through the USA Track and Field Association, and a Sports Performance Coach through USA Weightlifting. 

A Personal Trainer from 1998-present, Ben has trained professional athletes, previously-sedentary individuals, and everyone in between. 

An avid powerlifter, Ben is a 7-time state level champion, and holds multiple American records. He has run the Boston Marathon three times and currently works for the UniFirst Corporation as an Operations Engineer/Project Manager, where he has been since 2001.

He and his wife, Torrance (a DT/OT on the Intensity since 2005 and a Mortgage Underwriter/Specialist in the business world) live in Dedham, Massachusetts with their two beautiful daughters, Jade and Tracey (the Intensity Rookies of the Year for 2025 and 2029, respectively).

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