In total, Josh Alderson enters his 10th season at Lenoir-Rhyne. After a standout four-year career on the pitch, Alderson has moved to the sidelines where he has helped the Bears in a multitude of ways.
As a player, Alderson helped the Bears to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016 and the program's second-ever NCAA Tournament win that year. Alderson helped the Bears past Tusculum 3-1 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament as a six seed. Alderson ranks fifth in program history in matches played with 71 and was a 2016 Second Team All-South Atlantic Conference selection. Alderson was the team captain for the 2015 and 2016 seasons and was also a USC All-Region selection in 2016.
As a coach, Alderson helped the Bears to the program's first South Atlantic Conference Regular Season Championship in team history in 2018. He also helped the Bears to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2021. He was elevated from a graduate assistant to a full-time assistant coach in the summer of 2020 and will be the head coach of the JV program in his new role.
Alderson is from Formby, England, and played for Blackburn Rovers and Barnsley whilst in England prior to coming to the States. During the 2015 and 2017 summers, Alderson played in the USL PDL for Springfield Synergy (Missouri) and West Virginia Chaos (West Virginia) respectively, captaining the Chaos and finishing third both seasons. He has also coached North Carolina ODP and club soccer with Catawba Valley Youth Soccer Association, with whom he is still involved.
Alderson is married to his wife Erin and resides in Hickory.
