Hall of Fame
An All-American lacrosse goalkeeper for the Tigers in the early 70’s, John Sothoron later enjoyed a distinguished, lengthy and successful coaching career in Southern Maryland over a period of four decades.
During his varsity career as a starter the Tigers posted a 36-9 record that included a 13-1 mark in 1971, losing only to Maryland, the eventual national runner up. As a college division program, Towson finished the 1972 season with an impressive 12-6 mark that included victories over university division powers Syracuse, Duke and North Carolina. An All Mason-Dixon Conference selection, those wins also helped John earn his spot on the All-American team. He also represented Towson in the 1972 North-South College All-Star game. John closed out his playing career with 578 saves, tying him for third on Towson’s all-time list with his son, Reed (2002-05).
In 1975 John was named head coach at St. Mary’s College, beginning a career as a lacrosse head coach that would span 37 years at the college and high school levels while contributing significantly to the growth of the sport in St. Mary’s County. During his six- year tenure the Seahawks won two Tri-State Conference titles. John was named the league’s Coach of the Year in 1979.
After a seven-year hiatus from coaching John joined the staff at Penn, serving as a Quakers’ assistant for one season in 1988. John then moved on to Leonardtown, Md. the following year where he started the boys’ lacrosse program at St. Mary’s Ryken High School. As its first head coach he guided the Knights for 27 years, averaging 13 wins and four losses per season while developing the fledgling program into an annual contender in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference. Prior to the Knights’ entering the WCAC, Ryken captured 11 straight Maryland State Independent titles. SMR advanced to the finals or semi-finals 11 of 12 years in the WCAC, capturing the championship with a memorable 13-12 win over DeMatha in 2007.
With an overall coaching record of 410-144, it has been noted that 140 of his players moved on to the college ranks, including his three sons Reed (Towson), Jay (Greensboro College) and Tyler (Virginia Wesleyan/Stevenson), all goalies.
John played a major role in the founding of the St. Mary’s County Youth Lacrosse League in 1995, and was generally recognized as the primary advocate for the growth of lacrosse in Southern Maryland.
Over the years he was showered with accolades, including National Interscholastic Lacrosse Association (NILA) Man of the Year for 1997 and its Coach of the Year in 2000; three-time WCAC Coach of the Year; five-time southern Maryland Coach of the Year; Washington Post All-Met Coach of the Year and the Gerald J. Carroll Exemplary Coaches Award for Lacrosse.
In 1989 John was inducted into Towson’s Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2022 his son, Reed, became the first son or daughter to follow a parent into TU’s HOF when he joined his dad. John was also a member of the St. Mary’s College Hall of Fame, St. Mary’s Ryken Hall of Fame and the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Potomac chapter.
John passed away June 28, 2024 at the age of 74.
