Orange County SC Parts Ways with Head Coach Paul Hardyman
August 29, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Orange County SC News Release
Orange County SC today parted ways with head coach Paul Hardyman, assistant coach during the 2021 USL Championship title winning season.
The former Sunderland and Portsmouth defender had been in charge for 10 matches since taking over as head coach in June when Morten Karlsen departed OCSC to accept a coaching position in the Danish Superliga, Denmark's Top Division.
Hardyman joined Orange County as part of their partnership with Scottish Premiership side Rangers in 2021 and was instrumental in helping OCSC build out its Academy and Youth infrastructure upon his arrival. In addition, Hardyman joined the OCSC first team staff as Richard Chaplow's assistant for the second half of the 2021 title winning season.
We are grateful to Paul for all he has achieved and given to this club over the past years, James Keston, CEO and majority owner of OCSC said. Paul was an integral part of the technical staff that helped us to our championship victory in 2021 and will forever be part of the club's history, thanks both to his contributions as a coach for our first team and as a key part of our groundbreaking player development model. Paul used his vast experience in European football to help build and professionalize our structure, and he has made innumerable vital contributions to the development of some of our young players who are now succeeding at the highest level in Europe.
Unfortunately, the results and performances this season since Paul took over as head coach have not been at the level either he or we as a club would have hoped for, so we have agreed that now is the right time for Paul to move on. We wish Paul and his family all the very best for the future.
In addition, we thank Paul for generously requesting that a portion of his severance pay be donated to the Orange County Soccer Club Foundation, to which Paul gave countless hours of his time and energy in helping drive the Foundation's 'Soccer For All Programs.'
First assistant head coach Danny Stone, who has previously served as head coach of Phoenix Rising FC and OKC Energy, will take over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
Orange County SC enters Saturday's match in eighth place in the Western Conference Standings with nine matches remaining, including six at home. They play this Saturday against Las Vegas Lights FC at 7:00 PM at Championship Stadium.
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