FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Michelle Martin, Sports Info. Intern
(540) 365-4306

April 30, 2004


Faircloth Assumes Soccer Post at Ferrum
Benedictine High School Coach a Ferrum Alumnus
 
Ferrum, Va. -- Ferrum College Director of Athletics Abe Naff announced today that John Faircloth Jr. has been hired as head men's soccer coach.  
 
Faircloth is currently serving as soccer coach, lacrosse coach and science teacher at Benedictine High School, an all-boys school located in Richmond, Virginia.
 
Benedictine's soccer finished with a 15-5 record and a final ranking of 5th in the state. Faircloth has over 100 career wins to his credit.  He previously served six years at Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot High School (Huguenot Academy), where he was Director of Athletics, boys and girls  soccer coach, and science teacher. He led the boy's soccer team to a 70-33-1 record over six years, while his women were 30-33-4 over four seasons.
 
Faircloth’s boys earned Virginia Commonwealth Conference titles in 1995 and 1996, and he was named VCC Coach of the Year in 1994 and 1996.  His boys also earned a pair of VCC runner-up finishes, while the girls earned three League of Independent Schools conference runner-up finishes.
         
Faircloth received his bachelor's degree from Ferrum in 1993, and was a four-year member of the Ferrum men's soccer team under then head coach Tom Thatcher.  He will earn a master's degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in the fall of 2004.  Faircloth holds a State Diploma, National Diploma, and Goalkeeping I, II, and III Diplomas from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.  He will earn his Advanced National Diploma from the NSCAA this June.

Faircloth has served with Thatcher as Upper Division Director of Ferrum's Summer Soccer Camp for 11 years, as well as director of the Huguenot Runnin' Rebels Soccer Camp for six years.
 
At Benedictine, Faircloth led the boy's lacrosse team to their first win and first winning season, both in 2003.  He also turned around a wrestling team that had gone 2-14 the previous season, and went 7-9 in his first season at the helm of the mat program, also in 2003.

Faircloth served in the military with the United States Marine Corp from 1987-1993.  He was called to active duty in late November of 1990, serving in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.  He returned to Ferrum in the fall of 1991 to continue work on his degree.  Faircloth achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant with the Marines.
 
A search committee of Ferrum faculty and staff members reviewed applications and conducted on-campus interviews. Faircloth will begin work at Ferrum on May 3rd.  He replaces David Edwards, who served the past two seasons as men's soccer coach.  For more information, please contact the Ferrum College Sports Information Office at (540) 365-4306.
 
 
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