He attended Custer High School in Milwaukee.[2] He then played midfielder and goalkeeper for the Milwaukee Panthers men's soccer team. He was inducted into the Milwaukee Panthers Hall of Fame in 2000.[3]
After serving as an assistant coach, Launder was hired as the head coach at Wisconsin for the 1982 season. He led Wisconsin to the 1995 national championship, and was named the NSCAA Coach of the Year. However, in January 1996, Wisconsin associate athletic director Cheryl Marra recommended to the Athletic Board that Launder's contract not be renewed.[4] UW renewed his contract for one year.[2] Launder was fired from Wisconsin in February 1997.[5] The firing of Launder led to a review of the process Wisconsin used to evaluate coaches.[6]
In January 2003, Launder was hired to be an assistant coach for the Columbus Crew.[7] In late 2003, he returned to Madison to become the director of the Princeton Soccer Club.[2]
In January 2010, after Wisconsin coach Todd Yeagley departed to become the coach at Indiana, Launder applied to return as Wisconsin men's soccer coach, but was ultimately passed over for John Trask.[6]
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
Conference regular season champion
Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
Division regular season champion
Division regular season and conference tournament champion
Conference tournament champion