Bousum has always had a passion for football. He played high school football for Marshalltown and would then go on to play D3 football at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake Iowa.
“In high school, I played quarterback and I played defensive back in high school. My senior year in high school, I broke my leg so I didn’t really get to finish my high school career and felt like I had a little more to give… I decided to go to Buena Vista University in Storm Lake [and] I played defense and played safety at Buena Vista for four years during my undergrad,” Bousum said.
Bousum has had noticeable success in the world of football in Iowa. He has been a part of many championship caliber teams with the most noticeable being with his time with the Dowling Catholic Marrons.
“My first two years in the football realm, I coached sophomores, and then in my 3rd year I coached receivers, then in my 4th year, I became a defensive coordinator. I did that for 16 years,” Bousum said.
Bousum saw multiple years of success coaching the Maroons, he was a part of eight championship teams. With this success, Bousum was named assistant coach of the year in 2016.
“It was great… I mean, from a personal perspective, being part of winning seven straight championships was pretty fantastic. In the middle of that seven championships, I was named assistant coach of the year. So that was a really cool award that I was nominated for and won in 2016,’’ Bousum said.
While at Dowling Catholic, Bousum taught Pre-Algebra, Algebra l & Algebra ll before becoming the Dean of Students which gave him the responsibility of resolving problems amongst students, parents, and teachers. In 2020, he made the move to Johnston as a math teacher and defensive coach.
“Dowling was really, really good to me, but I decided I have 3 kids, a daughter and 2 boys…And my big debate was… what happens when they get close to high school? Do they go to Dowling, …do I coach against them, or do I, ultimately, move and coach possibly for them?
In Bousum’s first year of teaching at Johnston, he taught special education before eventually moving to math.
“It is important to me that I make kids’ math experience better than it was the year before… a lot of students are turned off by math previously, and sometimes it’s because it’s difficult, and sometimes it’s because of the relationship with the teacher… That is functionally not my goal. I want to make sure I’m not the problem,” Bousum said.
In Bousum’s first three years of coaching with Johnston, he coached defensive line but recently he made the transition to coaching the offensive line in the 2024-2025 season.
“He’s really knowledgeable about the sport and teaches you a lot about, you know, different assignments and different things. He’s also a really good motivator,” senior offensive lineman, Nick Darling ‘25 said.
Bousum and the Dragon Coaching staff have had one UNI-Dome appearance in Bousum’s four years as a Johnston coach which was in 2020.
“Coach Bousum, number one, is a coach that is very prepared each day for practice. He’s a very hardworking individual, but he’s a great person, a great teacher. He relates well with the players… Not only here, but in the classroom. He also brings a wealth of knowledge. From all his [years] being around the game with football that he can pass on to his players. So I’m very fortunate to have Coach Bousum,” Football head Coach Brian Woodley said.
Bousum has a family that runs throughout the district, with three kids currently in the district, and his wife, Kalya Bousum, another teacher at the high school. His youngest son Kemper is a 6th grader, Kellan is an 8th grader and his only daughter Alaina is a sophomore.
“When he was still at Dowling… on Friday nights we were expected to go cheer for his team at Dowling, and that was really hard for me to cheer for Dowling kids when I knew the Johnston kids,” Kayla said. “So since four years ago when he left Dowling and came here, it’s so much better… you go to a football game and all of our kids want to go and all of their friends are there and all of our neighborhood people are there. I just think it’s great to be in the same district as your children,” Kayla said.
A supportive spouse, Kayla is constantly encouraging her husband to try new things. Recently, Bousum went hunting for the first time, after encouragement from Kayla to pick up a hobby other than football and coaching.
“It was a neat experience because I went with my father-in-law’s best friend… it was quite the experience. I was shocked [because] I shot a deer… I’m pretty proud of [it] and I plan to go again,” Bousum said.
There is no doubt that JHS has yet to see the height of Bousum’s impact on the Johnston community. A successful coach, teacher, and father, one question remains, will his newfound hunting career be as successful?
