In addition to serving as Division III men's hockey head coach, Josh Wagner will play several key roles within Club Sports out of the LaHaye Ice Center.
Wagner takes on DIII men's hockey coaching duties, as well as running Pro Shop, concessions
8/18/2023 11:04:00 PM | Men's D3 Hockey
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The former DII men's hockey forward will fill multiple roles in Club Sports, starting with heading up the DIII selection process at this week's tryouts.
It has been a whirlwind week for former Liberty University Division II men's hockey forward Josh Wagner, who started Tuesday as the Flames' DIII men's hockey head coach as well as sales operations coordinator for Club Sports concessions and the Hockey Pro Shop inside the LaHaye Ice Center (LIC).
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Josh Wagner with wife, Anna, daughter Elsie May
The husband of Anna, a 2022 graduate of Liberty's School of Music, and father to 8-month-old Elsie May, Wagner grew up playing hockey in the small town of Coats, N.C., near Raleigh. He was offered the job last week, and has hit the ground — and the LIC's newly frozen ice — running.
"I thought I was going to be playing hockey last year and all of a sudden, I have a fun job and a wife," he said. "That was the plan originally, but the Lord has pointed us in another direction. God opened the door for me to have a fulltime position working for Liberty where I am able to try to impact students' lives every day and help raise Champions for Christ."
He has never before held a coaching position, however his father, Scott, worked with Rick Randazzo, the national director for FCA Hockey, and their combined hockey IQ has rubbed off on him.
"I grew up helping (his dad) run practices, so I'm not too worried about that," Wagner said. "I've got good hockey knowledge and love the game."
He has been mentored by Gary Steffes, founder and director of the sports ministry Pure Encouragement, who was formerly involved with FCA Hockey.
"Josh Wagner's a fantastic guy," Steffes said. "I've seen him since he was super, super young and to see where he is today, now he's on staff, he's leading the (DIII) team, he's going to do a tremendous job. He's ready. He'll do great."
Wagner will hold his DIII players to a high standard this season, as high as he was held to as a member of the DII squad for three seasons from 2020-22.
"From a coaching standpoint, I am a big believer in hard work," Wagner said. "My goal is to be an unrelenting team of competitors that push each other to be the best version of themselves each and every day. My goal is to have a group of athletes that have a desire to love the Lord as well as others, and to be a light to this dark world."
Club Sports Senior Associate Athletic Director Jeff Boettger, who also serves as associate head coach for Liberty's Division I men's hockey team, believes Wagner is a great fit for the DIII men's coaching position and the other duties his job title will entail in the department.
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Wagner played forward for the DIIÂ men's team from 2020-22. (Photos by Andrew Snyder)
"Josh has been involved with our (Liberty Summer Hockey) Camps as a counselor and an on-ice instructor," Boettger said. "He understands what LU hockey is all about, and will bring a great perspective and fresh ideas to the team. I think he is definitely engaged with what is happening at Liberty and the overall vision and mission and I am excited to see what his heart is, to create a great environment for student-athletes … to grow athletically, academically, spiritually and socially. (Former DIII Head Coach Josh Graham) has gotten it to a great place, and (Wagner will) continue to pour into it and develop the student-athletes holistically."
Wagner will lean on the experienced coaches on the Flames' Division I and II men's hockey staffs, as well as Graham, who is now the Division I women's assistant coach, when tryouts start on Sunday and run through Thursday for Division III, the last team to finalize its roster.
"It starts Sunday, so we're going to be watching and grinding and keeping an eye on players, obviously," Wagner said. "DI only has a couple of spots open, then DII takes their picks first. Once that's over, we pick what we need and get advice from all of the other coaches that have been doing it for years. We'll see how it goes. I think it's going to work out great. We have high hopes. We've got a good team this year."
Wagner has already named his two assistant coaches, graduate assistant Jaime Ross, who was the head captain of the DIII team as a forward the past three years and will assist him in the Pro Shop, and Brennan McDonnell, who played defenseman in the BCHL and the AJHL, and will work with the Flames' defensemen.
He expects it to be a transition year, with about half of the roster expected to be made up of newcomers.
"We're looking at 12-14 returning players and we're going to take 26 this year, so we're replacing 12-14," Wagner said. "We have a lot of guys returning and a lot of new guys coming in, so we're going to have a good time. We want to have a team of hard workers that want to be here and want to honor the Lord and be Champions for Christ, just be part of Liberty's mission."
He plans to implement a physical brand of hockey, with players who are not afraid to battle on the ice.
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Wagner won his fair share of faceoffs and was not afraid to pursue pucks in the corners.
"We want to rise to the occasion and play hard and compete and show that we're good hockey players and we have skills," Wagner said. "We're going to see a lot of good guys out there at tryouts. It's really who really wants to be there, who wants to play and earn their spot. Our focus and goal for this year is just to grow as a team and bond together, just being a team. Our goal is not to be the most skilled team ever. Our goal is to be the hardest-working team, get in the corners, get the puck in, get it in the net. That's what our plan is, be a fast, big team. We want to hit, be physical, just be a force to play against. We'll bring that same energy and as long as everyone's buying in and nobody's scared of being hit or giving a hit, we'll be good."
While senior forward Mike Williams and junior center Ethan Dunn have been designated as the team's spiritual leaders for the 2023-24 season, Wagner has yet to name captains for the team that will compete in the AAU (formerly College Hockey Federation) this season.
"With all of the new guys coming in, we want to see who will step up and be a leader," he said. "We'll wait a couple months."
Wagner said playing for DII Head Coach Ben Hughes and Assistant Coach Christian Garland for three years gave him tremendous insight into what it takes to run a winning program at the collegiate level.
"I loved playing, had a great time, and (Hughes and Garland) are great guys who really helped me learn how to navigate through Liberty while playing sports and doing school and having a job," Wagner said. "Having that avenue to watch was awesome. Liberty treats its athletes well and has a great program. Everybody supports each other. My office is door-to-door next to Hughes, so I'll probably be bugging him quite a bit. He obviously has a lot of knowledge that I'm trying to learn, and I'll definitely have a lot of guys around, (DI men's Head Coach) Kirk (Handy) and Jeff (Boettger), and (DI women's Head Coach Chris) Lowes, who have made it very clear that I can ask them anything."
Wagner, who is completing his interdisciplinary studies degree with cognates in business administration, graphic design, and a commercial music: recording engineering and producing through Liberty's online programs, will report to Club Sports Assistant Athletic Director Jillian Burton in his role with concessions, helping her coordinate schedules for the student-athletes who support their respective teams' fundraising efforts by serving.
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Wagner will also be working with Breakaway Concessions and in the Hockey Pro Shop.
"I'll order and get HRÂ (student-worker) scheduling for all of that and also help with the Pro Shop," Wagner said. "I was working here as a work study my freshman and sophomore year, working all of the games. Now, I'll be doing the same thing on the other side of it, ordering and supervising."
He hopes to use his graphic design skills to help with logo design in the Pro Shop as well as in illustrating covers for his wife, who will be releasing her first Christian music album within the next year.
"Music is just for fun," Wagner said. "She records when we can, and we have a very good friend who is a very talented producer. It's a hobby that the Lord gave us as another avenue to kind of grow His name and put Him out there and promote Him to others."
