Josh McGill, GU Class of '22, leads high school soccer team to unlikely regional title
Published: February 21, 2025
Author: Dave Bell
It had been more than a decade since the Greenville High School soccer team had played in a regional final. And after the GHS squad lost – once again – to arch-rival Hillsboro High School during last fall’s regular season, it appeared that the regional title drought would persist.
But GHS Coach Josh McGill wasn’t buying it. He felt the Comets had a legitimate shot – IF his players could believe in themselves and IF he could coach them well enough to knock off the imposing Hiltoppers team. He needed to convince his athletes they were up to the task.
“We had to change our attitude,” said McGill, a 2022 Greenville University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and a minor in coaching. “We had to get over fearing them. Once we changed that, we worked on strategies to attack their strengths and take advantage of their weaknesses. Slowly, our players began to believe.”
As the regular season wound down, and the playoff brackets were announced, McGill’s predictions were confirmed – the Comets would face the Hiltoppers in the regional finals.
And face them they did.
“We were a different team than they’d seen in the regular season,” McGill said. “We came into the regional game with an entirely different attitude. We showed them some new looks, we played with confidence, and we shut down their best player. When the game was over, we had beaten them – for the first time ever – by a score of 5-1.”
REGIONAL TITLE WAS AN IMPORTANT LANDMARK
It was a satisfying win for the young coach. It also was a testament to the lessons he learned as a Greenville University player under Coach Chris Swift.
“As I’ve done more coaching myself, I’ve gained an appreciation for everything Coach Swift does in his role. He’s shown me a lot about running a program. He’s very intentional about all the details a coach must do for their program to succeed.”
McGill’s passion for sports runs in the family. His father played soccer for four years at GU during the 1980s, and his mother was part of the Panther volleyball team for a season. After graduating, they became missionaries in Taiwan. As a child, McGill attended Morrison Academy in Taichung, Taiwan, a school primarily for the children of missionaries.
Sadly, his mother died in November 2017, during his senior year in high school. Though that experience was extremely painful, he learned to depend on his faith in Jesus when faced with one of life’s toughest challenges. He also said it has given him more empathy for his athletes as they negotiate hard things in their lives – family situations, athletic injuries, or relationship challenges. “I want to support them as they go through those times,” he said.
His experience at GU included playing junior varsity soccer for two years before stepping off the field to focus on teaching and coaching while he finished his degree.
“I wasn’t a star player,” he said, “so I know what it’s like to ride the bench and fight for a position. I was a workhorse when I did get to play, and I provided vocal support from the bench when I wasn’t on the field. That experience has helped me to relate better to the bench players.”
When his playing days were over, McGill doubled down on learning about coaching. He cites classes with GU coaches Lynn Carlson, Doug Faulkner, and Roy Mulholland as particularly influential. Further, a child psychology class he took from Professor Paul Alvord in the School of Education provided valuable principles that McGill employs “almost every day” as a teacher and a coach.
'SPECIAL PEOPLE' IMPACTED HIS LIFE
“God has put special people in my life, and I’ve learned a lot from them,” he said. “I encourage students to be intentional about building relationships with their professors and coaches. Having them pouring into your life and giving you wise counsel is so valuable!”
He’s also been at the right place and time to capitalize on opportunities. In the fall of his senior year at GU (2021), McGill landed the head coaching position at GHS.
Since graduating from GU in 2022, McGill worked for a year in the Bond County Community Unit 2 district as a teacher’s aide. Then, last fall, he was hired as a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade physical education teacher at the district’s school in Pocahontas.
All the while, he’s been actively building the soccer program at GHS. In his first year, the team won only five games. They’ve improved in subsequent years, winning nine his second year, 13 his third year, and 12 this past fall. He’s also fielded a talented group of assistant coaches, including several former Comets, a former GU teammate, and a former high school head coach who moved to town to be an assistant pastor at the Greenville Free Methodist Church.
“I want to be a good role model for my players,” McGill concluded. “I’ve been blessed to do the things I’m doing at a young age, and I want to use those opportunities to pour into the lives of the athletes in our program. This year, several of our players were seriously pursuing their relationship with God. That’s so moving to me.”
He’s also encouraged when he sees his athletes successfully confronting life’s challenges. They’ve witnessed how hard work and innovation yield results on the soccer field, and they’re now applying the same strategies to other aspects of their lives.
