Josh Rife (born December 29, 1979) is a retired American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who currently coaches for the

Ball State Cardinals women's soccer A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used fo ...

team. He was announced as the head coach of the Cardinals in July 2019.

Career

Youth and College

Rife grew up in

Denton, Texas Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 27th-most populous city in Texas, the 197th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous ...

, and attended

Denton High School Denton High School is a public high school located in the city of Denton, Texas and classified as a 5A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Denton Independent School District located in central Denton County and was the original high school ...

, where he was a varsity starter all four years. He played club soccer for the Texas Longhorns, a

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

based soccer club, from the age of nine until he was eighteen years old. At the age of eleven he toured Norway, Sweden, and Denmark with a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n youth team and played in a series of tournaments where he garnered local and national attention. He played two years of

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...

as a starting defender, before transferring to

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

in 2000 to pursue a higher level of play under legendary coach

Jerry Yeagley Jerry Yeagley (born January 10, 1940 in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Lebanon, Pennsylvania) is a former soccer player and coach. He was the coach of the Indiana Hoosiers men's soccer team from 1973 to 2003. His teams won six NCAA Men's Soccer Championsh ...

. During his two years at Indiana Rife started 46 matches, was awarded first team All-Big Ten Selection in 2000 and 2001 and first team

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than 30 ...

All-Region selection in 2001, and helped the team to two College Cups, the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Tournament in 2001, and the 2000 regular season championship.

Outdoor Professional Soccer

Rife signed with the

Charlotte Eagles The Charlotte Eagles are an American professional soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1991, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at ...

of the

USL Professional Division The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

in 2003. He helped the team win the USL2 Championship in 2005, and was named USL-2 Defender of the Year in 2006. Charlotte has reached its league championship game five times since 2004. After a decade with

, Rife moved to

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

club

VSI Tampa Bay FC VSI Tampa Bay FC was an American soccer team based in Plant City, Florida. They played in USL Pro, the third tier of the American soccer pyramid, in the 2013 season. VSI Tampa Bay FC were owned by VisionPro Sports Institute and were affiliated ...

at the beginning of the 2013 season. He played 26 games, was the captain/Defender and made second-team All-USL PRO selection. Upon completion of his inaugural season with

, Rife retired from playing indoor and outdoor soccer.

Indoor Professional Soccer

Rife played professional indoor soccer with the

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional soccer team in the United States and are seven-time league champions, m ...

in the Major Indoor Soccer League. During his 2009 – 2010 season, he was named Second Team All MISL and MISL Defensive Player of Month in January and March. Rife led the MISL with 36 blocked shots and he played all 20 games scoring 11 goals and tallying 28 points. He previously played for the indoor teams

Philadelphia KiXX The Philadelphia KiXX was a professional indoor soccer team based in Philadelphia, USA. The team competed as an NPSL expansion franchise and then played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. History The team's original owner was Ed Tepper, also pr ...

and

Detroit Ignition The Detroit Ignition were an American indoor soccer team that has played three seasons, most recently 2008–09. In April 2006, Greg Bibb, president of Hantz Group Sports and Entertainment, introduced the teams as a new Major Indoor Soccer League ...

. He signed with the

of the Major Indoor Soccer League on November 4, 2005, after a successful trial with the team the previous October, and went on to be named to the 2006 All-MISL Rookie Team. On October 19, 2006, KiXX traded Rife to the

of the

Xtreme Soccer League The Xtreme Soccer League (XSL) was an indoor soccer league that began play in December 2008. Four teams from the former Major Indoor Soccer League participated in the first XSL season: the Chicago Storm, Detroit Ignition, Milwaukee Wave, and New ...

in exchange for

Don D'Ambra Don D'Ambra (born May 5, 1972 in Philadelphia) is a retired American soccer forward who currently coaches the Saint Joseph's University men's soccer team. Player Youth D'Ambra graduated from Northeast Catholic High School. He then attended S ...

. While with the

Josh was named the Xtreme Soccer League Defensive Player of the Year. He led the XSL with 31 shot blocks as Detroit won the league championship.

Coaching

Rife joined the PBA Sailfish in 2008 as Assistant Coach for the men's team. In 2010, the team won the

National Christian College Athletic Association The National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) is an association of Christian universities, colleges, and Bible colleges in the United States and Canada whose mission is "the promotion and enhancement of intercollegiate athletic co ...

national title. The head coach, Jose Gomez, is Rife's former Charlotte Eagles team-mate. Rife was announced as the head coach of the

MISL The Misls (derived from an Arabic word wikt:مثل#Etymology_3, مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian ...

's Rochester Lancers on September 13, 2013.Rochester Lancers hire Josh Rife as Head Coach
/ref> He is the youngest coach in MISL history.

Personal

In 2006, Rife married

Charlotte Lady Eagles Charlotte Lady Eagles is an American women's soccer team, founded in 2000. Between 2002 and 2015 the Lady Eagles were a member of the United Soccer Leagues USL W-League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States and Canada, and a memb ...

player Christy Timbers-Rife.

References

External links

Charlotte Eagles Player Bio

Milwaukee Wave Player Bio

Rochester Lancers Coach Bio

Palm Beach Atlantic Coach Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rife, Josh Living people 1979 births American men's soccer players TCU Horned Frogs men's soccer players Indiana Hoosiers men's soccer players Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players Philadelphia KiXX players Detroit Ignition players USL Second Division players Charlotte Eagles players VSI Tampa Bay FC players Xtreme Soccer League players USL Championship players Major Indoor Soccer League (2008–2014) players Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC coaches Mississippi State Bulldogs women's soccer coaches Liberty Lady Flames soccer coaches Ball State Cardinals women's soccer coaches Major Arena Soccer League players American soccer coaches Sportspeople from Denton, Texas Soccer players from Denton County, Texas Milwaukee Wave players Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish men's soccer coaches USL League Two coaches