Riverhounds Appoint Rife as PDL Coach, First-Team Assistant
March 9, 2015 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC News Release
PITTSBURGH (March 9, 2015) - The Pittsburgh Riverhounds are pleased to announce the addition of Josh Rife to the club's coaching staff.
Rife, 35, will lead the Riverhounds' Premier Development League team and assist first-team head coach Mark Steffens and assistant Niko Katic with other coaching duties.
Honolulu-born Rife spent most of his playing career under Steffens at the Charlotte Eagles before joining VSI Tampa Bay for the 2013 USL season. He retired at the end of that year and took over as head coach of the Major Indoor Soccer League's Rochester Lancers franchise.
"Josh was with me for 10 years as a player and he was my captain for most of it," Steffens said. "He know my style and he knows the game very well.
"He was a great player and he has a great tactical mind."
Rife played collegiately at Texas Christian University for two years before transferring to Jerry Yeagley's Indiana program. He was ever present for the 2001 Hoosiers team that reached the NCAA national championship game before losing to North Carolina.
He won the USL Second Division title with Charlotte in 2005 and was named as the league's Defender of the Year the following season when the Eagles again reached the championship decider before losing out to the Richmond Kickers.
The Riverhounds launched a PDL side last year with Illinois Central College head coach Oz Bakirdan leading the team. Ryan Hulings and Anthony Virgara earned pro contracts at the end of the summer after impressing under Bakirdan's guidance.
Rife's appointment allows fuller integration between the PDL and USL levels given his daily involvement with the professional team.
Open tryouts for this year's PDL side will be held at Highmark Stadium on April 24 and 25. Details on how to apply will be released shortly.
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