(Wednesday - Jan. 20, 2010 - Kitsap Sun Sports)
Ritchie Hired as New Head Coach
Kitsap Pumas assistant coach James Ritchie loves spending time on the soccer field. Well, the 28-year-old has been named the men's soccer coach at Olympic College and the boys soccer coach at South Kitsap High School. The native of Scotland interviewed for both positions last week. Because OC plays its season in the fall, Ritchie is allowed to coach boys high school soccer in the spring. "I want to reach for the stars," Ritchie said of landing both coaching jobs. "I want to compete. I want to give effort." Ritchie, who helped the Pumas win a division title during the club's first season in the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League last summer, will keep his job as Kitsap's assistant coach and youth development director.
(Sunday - Feb. 21, 2010 - The Olympian)
New Coach Hopes For Change
James Ritchie, 28, hails from Glasgow, Scotland where he was a semi-professional soccer player until an unfortunate knee accident at the age of 22 caused his days of glory to stop short. "This is a new program. We're going to move on. It's a clean slate," Ritchie said about his new team. | |