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Josh Langley wrapped up his first season as an assistant coach with the men's track & field program at Clemson in 2006-07. Langley, hired at Clemson in August of 2006, spent the previous three seasons as an assistant coach in charge of field events for Gardner-Webb's men's and women's programs. Langley coaches field events and multi-event athletes at Clemson.
He made an instant impact in his first year with the Tigers. During the 2007 indoor season, he coached Ryan Koontz to an All-America honor with a seventh-place finish in the heptathlon. Koontz also set the school record in the heptathlon. Langley also coached George Fields, who won the ACC long jump title. Other indoor all-conference performers coached by Langley were Jason Bell (triple jump), Adam Linkenauger (high jump), Mitch Greeley (pole vault), and Koontz (heptathlon). Bell was also an indoor All-American after a 10th-place finish at the NCAA Championships.
Langley's biggest impact would be felt during the 2007 outdoor season. He coached Mitch Greeley to the first-ever All-America finish for a Tiger in the outdoor pole vault. Greeley established a personal best (17'9") in the event under Langley's coaching. Fields and Linkenauger also earned NCAA bids outdoors. Langley coached Linkenauger to a historic achievement after claiming the ACC outdoor title, his fourth in as many years. He was the first high jumper in ACC history to win the event four consecutive years. Other outdoor all-conference performers coached by Langley were Bell (triple jump), Fields (long jump), Greeley (pole vault), and Koontz (decathlon). As a result of the success of his student-athletes, Langley was named East Region Assistant Coach-of-the-Year for jumps and combined events.
In the summer of 2007, he coached three participants at the USA Junior Championships. He helped red-shirt freshman Miller Moss to a seventh-place finish in the decathlon.
Langley was certainly no stranger to the Tiger track & field program when he took the job. He interned with the team in the spring of 2003 and has worked the past five summer camps for Clemson. During the camps, his duties consisted of instructing athletes on proper throwing techniques, monitoring students, and speaking on the importance of academics.
He helped Gardner-Webb to the Atlantic Sun men's team title during the 2006 outdoor season. He coached the Bulldogs to seven championships in the field events, including two multiple champions. Jake Didion won the long jump and triple jump under Langley's guidance. He also coached Didion to a regional-qualifying effort in the long jump in 2006. Didion was the Atlantic Sun's 2005 Freshman-of-the-Year.
Langley also coached Cody MacArthur to multiple conference titles in 2006, the discus and hammer throws. Under Langley's watch, he was named Most Valuable Field Event Performer at the 2006 Atlantic Sun Championships. His other conference champions during the 2006 outdoor season were Jeremy Longshore (pole vault), Matt Knippen (shot put), and his younger brother Jerel Langley (javelin). Knippen, Longshore, and MacArthur established conference meet records in their respective events.
During the 2006 indoor season, Langley coached Knippen to conference crowns in both the shot put and weight throw. He also coached Longshore to the indoor pole vault title. During his time at Gardner-Webb, he also coached a two-time NCAA provisional qualifier in the women's heptathlon (Tara Stephenson, 2004-05). In total, he coached 49 All-Conference selections, 22 Academic All-Conference selections, and five regional qualifiers at Gardner-Webb (men's and women's programs combined).
Langley also spent time as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Western Carolina. There, he developed and implemented all aspects of training for throwers. As a student-athlete, he was a member of the Catamounts' 1999 Southern Conference indoor and outdoor championship teams. He was a two-time Academic All-Southern Conference honoree and ranks in the top five all-time on the school's javelin performance list.
Langley earned his undergraduate degree in Sport Management from Western Carolina in 2003 and then earned a master's degree in Sport Science and Pedagogy from Gardner-Webb in December of 2005. He is married to the former Layna Stoetzel, a former standout volleyball player at Western Carolina. The couple resides in Clemson.
