NORFOLK, Va. -- Old Dominion Head Men's Soccer Coach Tennant McVea announced on Wednesday the hiring of Josh Spencer as an assistant coach. Spencer joins the Monarchs after serving two years as the head coach at West Virginia Wesleyan.
"My first encounter with Josh was in 2018 when he was a part of our inaugural Lionsbridge FC squad in USL2. Even then we knew Josh was a person of immense character and maturity," McVea said. "Josh has been the head coach at his alma mater West Virginia Wesleyan for the past two seasons and he has done a magnificent job of rebuilding the program after the unfortunate passing of his friend and mentor Gavin Donaldson.
"I have had the pleasure of working alongside Josh at Lionsbridge FC where he has been an assistant coach for the past two seasons. He is a fantastic coach, very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and has a great presence around players. Josh will be a great resource for our players and a great addition to the Old Dominion community as a whole," said McVea."
A WVWC men's soccer alum, Spencer was named the head coach of the Bobcats after completing a one-year stint as a volunteer assistant coach under Gavin Donaldson. Spencer was a four-year starter and a three-year captain for Donaldson during his playing career from 2014-2017 and led the Bobcats to a Mountain East Conference Championship in his senior season.
In 2023, the Bobcats had six players named All-Mountain East Conference including the Offensive Player of the Year in Sinasi Emre Deniz. WVWC had two players named first team, three to the second team and one honorable mention. The Bobcats also had two players named to the All-Freshman team as they advanced to the league quarterfinals and finished with an 8-8-3 mark.
In his first year as a coach with the program, Spencer mentored three all-conference players and one all-freshman team player. Spencer assisted with creating practice plans and oversaw game management during the 2021 season as West Virginia Wesleyan went 7-8-4.
Spencer was the assistant coach and camp director of Lionsbridge FC for the 2022 season. Spencer played a key role in coaching the team to their first Chesapeake Division crown in club history. Lionsbridge FC had an undefeated regular season (12-0-2) under Spencer's guidance. Spencer also has experience coaching at the youth level and was an assistant coach of Long Eaton United youth team in Nottingham, England.
Spencer returned to Lionsbridge FC as assistant coach for the 2023 USL2 season and was a member of the coaching staff that guided The Bridge to its most successful season to date. In 2023 Lionsbridge won the Coastal Virginia Cup, the Chesapeake Division Title, The Eastern Conference Championship and ended the season as National Finalists.
The Nottingham, England native began his playing career in academy football for Derby County, Lincoln City and Boston United. After WVWC, Spencer signed with Lionsbridge FC and was the club's first signing for their inaugural season in 2018. Spencer played semi-professionally in Europe between 2018-2021.
"It's a real privilege to be offered the opportunity to progress professionally with Old Dominion University Men's Soccer," said Spencer. "The university has a fantastic reputation within college soccer, and I am driven to help push the program toward more success. I am extremely grateful to Coach McVea and the University for the opportunity and am excited to get to work."
Spencer is married to his wife, Mary, who is a West Virginia Wesleyan women's soccer alum playing from 2014-17.
Josh Spencer Hired As Men's Soccer Assistant Coach
