USL Richmond Kickers

Vice President and General Manager Paul Sterbenz moves on

Published on March 7, 2007 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Richmond Kickers News Release


RICHMOND, VA - (Wednesday, March 7, 2007) - After eight seasons with the Richmond Kickers, Vice President and General Manager Paul Sterbenz will be moving on to pursue another career avenue in Chicago, Illinois.

"It is very rare to find a young man with such a great work ethic and reputation in the industry as a real leader," comments Richmond Kickers President Tom Depcrynski. "We will miss him but know he must grow and we would never want to keep him from discovering that growth. We greatly appreciate everything he has done for this organization and we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors."

Sterbenz joined the Kickers in March of 1999 as the Director of Public Relations and assumed the role of Director of Operations prior to the 2001 season. In December of 2003, he was promoted to General Manager and was named Vice President prior to the 2006 season. He served a two-year term (2003-2005) as the Mid-Atlantic representative of the Premier Development League (PDL) Executive Committee and earned USL First Division Executive of the Year honors following the 2005 season.

A 1998 graduate of the University of Richmond, Sterbenz was a four-year starter of the Spiders soccer team, serving as captain his senior year. After college, he was drafted and trained with the Tallahassee Scorpions of the Eastern Indoor Soccer League until he took a job with a marketing company that represented Reebok. Sterbenz earned his Masters Degree in Recreation, Parks and Sports Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) SportsCenter program in the spring of 2004.

Sterbenz is taking on a new role as the Senior Director, Event Operations with TGI Systems Corporation in Chicago. In his new position, he will oversee all operational responsibilities related to TGI Systems' international business, most specifically the projects that fall within the company's contractual obligations to FIFA, soccer world's governing body.

Kickers Restructure Front Office Staff

Upon the departure of Vice President and General Manager Paul Sterbenz, the Kickers front office will restructure, promoting Leigh Cowlishaw to Vice President, Soccer Programs, Kevin Goolsby to Vice President, Sales & Marketing and Shelley Sowers to Vice President, Communications.

"Although it will be impossible to replace Paul, I am confident we have formed a management team that will continue the growth and success of our club," comments Cowlishaw. "Both Kevin and Shelley have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share and are committed to fulfilling the club's mission."

A native of Burton-on-Trent, England, Cowlishaw has been an integral member of the Kickers franchise since the club's inception in 1993. Over seven seasons as head coach, he has compiled an overall record of 119-66-43 and was named FieldTurf USL2 Coach of the Year following the 2006 season. As the Vice President, Soccer Programs, Cowlishaw provides technical direction and guidance for all levels of the Kickers organization and serves on the board of the Richmond Kickers Youth Soccer Club. He works closely with the technical staff to ensure all programs uphold the club philosophy of high integrity and character building and will oversee all player-personnel decision making at the professional level.

Goolsby, a Phi Sigma Honor Society graduate of the College of William & Mary joined the Richmond Kickers professional side as the Director of Sales & Marketing in October of 2002 after spending a year as the General Manager of the Richmond Kickers Youth Soccer Club. As the Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Goolsby will continue to maintain all sponsor relations as well as establish new sponsorship initiatives while guiding the direction of development and implementation of all sponsorship agreements. Additionally, he will be instrumental in strengthening brand management while overseeing advertising strategies by creating marketing plans to include print, radio and television advertising.

A native of Richmond, VA, and summa cum laude graduate of Virginia Tech, Sowers joined the Kickers in November of 2002 as a Sales & Marketing Associate. In December of 2003, she was promoted to Director of Public Relations, adding Director of Fan Development to her title following the 2006 season. As Vice President, Communications, Sowers will oversee the daily communications and media relations of the club while managing player appearances in the community, creating and implementing print and marketing materials and managing website development. She will oversee events and the game day experience while implementing ticket sales strategies. Additionally, she will continue to act as the registrar for the Central Virginia Soccer Association (CVSA).

Micah Pigott, who joined the Kickers staff earlier this year, will continue to act as Director of Operations while Andy McIntosh, involved with the organization for the past five years, will oversee the camp program as Director of Camps. Jesse Myers will continue to act as Assistant Coach for the professional side as well as Head Coach for the Richmond Kickers Destiny (W-League). Newly appointed Head Coach of the Richmond Kickers Future (PDL), Ihor Dotsenko will maintain his position as Technical Director of the Richmond Kickers Youth Soccer Club as well as player/assistant coach for the pro team.

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