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Josh Laux
Randolph-Macon Head Men's Soccer Coach Josh Laux has been at the helm of the Yellow Jackets since 2015. He returned to his alma mater where he was a top player from 1998 to 2001.
Over the course of Laux's career at the helm of his alma mater, the Lemon and Black have gone 72-47-12 overall and 39-26-8 in ODAC play. From 2006-14 before Laux came in, RMC was 43-96-15 overall and 27-53-11 in conference play. That marks a +.316 jump in overall win percentage and a +.232 jump in conference winning percentage. In the four years prior to Laux arriving, RMC posted a -44 goal differential, which was flipped to a +49 goal differential in the first four years under Laux. Over that time, RMC scored 130 goals and totaled an impressive 27 shutouts between 2015-18.
In the fall of 2021 seventh-year head coach Josh Laux guided the Yellow Jackets to an overall record of 10-4-3. The defense was especially strong as RMC recorded nine shutouts, the top mark in the ODAC and one of the highest totals in the nation.
The Yellow Jackets went 5-1-3 in ODAC play and were the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament for the second-straight season finishing with 18 points in the standings. R-MC had its fewest league losses since going 7-1-1 in 1999 and spent most of the season ranked in the NCAA South Regional poll. Over the past three seasons, the Yellow Jackets have registered a league mark of 15-6-3, a winning percentage of 70%. 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2021 mark the program's five highest ODAC winning percentages since 1999.
Laux has guided Randolph-Macon men's soccer to three of the highest winning percentages in conference play in 20 years. On top of that, 40 wins across the past four seasons marks more total wins than any other four year period for more than ten years. Over his first seven years, Laux's teams went 5-2 against arch rival H-SC.
In the spring of 2021, RMC finished third in the ODAC with a 5-2 conference record. The Yellow Jackets scored 21 goals during the shortened conference-only campaign.
In 2019 Laux helped the Yellow Jackets battle strong adversity in the form of injuries. R-MC powered through the losses of key players to win nine games overall and five games in the eight-game conference schedule for a 5-3 conference record. The Yellow Jackets earned the fifth seed in the ODAC Tournament, just 2 points out of third, marking the fifth straight year that Randolph-Macon had appeared in the conference's postseason. Laux directed two players to All-Conference honors as well as one to an All-Region selection.
In 2018, R-MC continued to be competitive in the ODAC recording conference wins with lopsided scorlines of 5-0 against Emory and Henry on senior day and a 4-0 win over Guilford earlier in the season. The team also recorded a 2-0 victory over rival Hampden-Sydney, marking the fourth-straight win over the Yellow Jackets' arch rivals, including postseason meetings. Laux helped facilitate the emergence of players as top-level players in the ODAC placing a player on All-ODAC Second team. The team consistently attracted large crowds at home and were consistent and confident in their style of play throughout the season.
Under Laux in 2017, Randolph-Macon solidified itself as a top tier Old Dominion Athletic Conference team, finishing with a record of 14-3-1 and 6-2-1 in the ODAC. The team had one of the highest winning percentages in the country and tallied the most wins for a Yellow Jacket program since 1994, when the program won 14 matches. Inside the conference, R-MC marked the most wins since 2000. The Yellow Jacket defense was prolific with ten clean sheets -- the most since 2005. With Laux's guidance, multiple Yellow Jackets were honored for their work on the field and inside the classroom: Three United Soccer Coaches All-South Atlantic Region Third Team selections, a Scholar All-American and Scholar All-Region choice and five players on All-ODAC teams.
In 2016, Randolph-Macon re-established itself as a major force within the ODAC and announced itself on the national stage. The team finished 10-5-3 and at the top end of the conference with a 5-3-1 record. The 2016 Yellow Jackets had a number of statement results, drew large crowds at home, and showed an attacking style of play immersed in a high pressure defensive system that made the team simply fun to watch. In addition, the team received votes in the national polls for the first time since 2005.
The turnaround began in the 2015 campaign, Coach Laux’s first year back at his alma mater. The Yellow Jackets made excellent strides, setting the stage for future success. A strong nucleus of returning players combined with a talented freshmen class put R-MC in the postseason for the first time since 2011. The Yellow Jackets finished 2015 with seven shutouts and five conference wins, the most wins for the program since 2000, when the team finished with a 6-1 record. The 2015 team jumped five spots in the conference standings compared to 2014. Four Yellow Jackets were named to the All-Conference team while two players were named All-State.
Laux came to Randolph-Macon from Hampden-Sydney College where he coached for 11 seasons. He is just the third head coach at R-MC since 1962.
Laux posted a record of 104-79-20 with the Tigers, the most career wins in program history. He had an ODAC record of 55-35-10.
After winning three games in his first season in Farmville, the Tigers averaged 10 wins per year since 2005. The 2009 squad set a program record with 16 victories and eight ODAC wins. In his last season, H-SC went 10-5-3 overall and 6-3-2 in ODAC contests.
During his tenure with the Tigers, Laux worked with 92 Academic All-ODAC performers, 49 All-ODAC selections, two Academic All-Americans, three ODAC Rookie of the Year recipients, two State Rookie of the Year selections, and one ODAC Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Laux graduated from Randolph-Macon in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and International Studies. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Delta Pi Spanish Honor Society, Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Honor Society and Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honor Society.
During his collegiate career, Laux was ODAC Rookie of the Year, three-time All-ODAC, two-time All-State and two-time All-South Region. A team captain, Laux won the Compton Award following his senior season as the school's top male student-athlete. Laux is fifth on the program's career assists list with 21 and 12th in career points with 61. He was later voted to the RMC All-Time First Team.
Following graduation, Laux remained at R-MC as an assistant coach from 2002-04. He helped the Yellow Jackets advance to the ODAC championship game in 2002 while starting seven freshmen. R-MC finished the 2003 campaign ranked eighth in the South Region. Laux served as interim head coach in the spring of 2004.
In addition to his coaching duties, Laux works as an assistant coach for Futsal RVA. He is currently an assistant with the U-14 girls, and has been coaching that pool of players for the last three years. The group has won the mid-Atlantic regionals as well as the Jefferson Cup in each of the past three seasons.
Laux earned a Masters of Environmental Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2004. A native of Lansdowne, Pa., Laux and his wife, Tricia, have an 12-year-old daughter, Keira.
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