SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - It was quite a week for Norman Riker.
First, he welcomed his second child into the world. Then by the end
of the week, he had signed a contract to become Wittenberg
University's new women's soccer head coach.
Riker was chosen from a large pool of qualified candidates to
replace Fran Kulas, who resigned in December to become director of
coach and player development for Kentucky Youth Soccer in
Lexington, Ky. Riker becomes the seventh head coach of the
Wittenberg University women's soccer program since it became a
varsity sport in 1986.
Most recently, Riker was the interim head coach of the
women's soccer team at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. for the
2001 season, and he also serves as the men's lacrosse assistant
coach. He had been serving as an assistant in both programs since
1994, and he also worked as the building manager of Walker
Fieldhouse on the Vassar campus.
A native of Block Island, R.I., Riker was a four-year
lacrosse letterwinner at Springfield College (Mass.). He was a
captain of the lacrosse team as a senior and he was selected to
participate in a pair of senior all-star games. He holds a bachelor
of arts in history from Springfield, and he has since attained a
master of professional studies in humanistic education from the
State University of New York, New Paltz.
Riker, a four-year high school letterwinner in soccer and
lacrosse at Suffield (Conn.) Academy, attained several soccer
coaching accreditations, including a National Soccer Coaches
Association of America (NSCAA) diploma in 1997, an NSCAA
Goalkeeping Institute, Level 1 diploma in 1998, an NSCAA advanced
national diploma, with distinction, in 1998, and a United States
Soccer Federation "B" License in 1999. He is the founder and
director of a summer camp in his hometown of Block Island, R.I.,
and he remains an active player in a local soccer club and lacrosse
club in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Riker, with his wife Gabrielle and their children Isabelle
and Sofia, plans to move to Springfield permanently by June,
although he will be coming to campus prior to that to meet with his
new team and plan offseason workouts. He inherits a team that went
7-7-3 in 2001 and is expected to return seven starters in
2002.
Wittenberg University Selects Norman Riker as New Women's Soccer Head Coach
Posted: Mar 31, 2002