Rich Ryerson is a former U.S. soccer

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who spent three seasons in the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

, one in the National Professional Soccer League, one in the

Eastern Indoor Soccer League The Eastern Indoor Soccer League (EISL) was an American professional regional indoor soccer league. The league featured teams from the Southeastern United States. The regular seasons were played from May to August with post-season play in Septem ...

and four in the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pr ...

. He also played in the Swedish second division and was the head coach for the

UNLV Rebels men's soccer : ''For information on all University of Nevada, Las Vegas sports, see UNLV Rebels'' The UNLV Rebels men's soccer team represents the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in all NCAA Division I men's college soccer competitions. The team currently ...

team for eleven years.

Youth

Ryerson, brother to Rob Ryerson attended Oakland Mills High School. He then attended

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the ...

where he played on the men’s soccer team from 1983 to 1986. He finished his career holding the school’s records with 84 career games. He graduated in 1987 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in business administration.

Professional

In 1990, Ryerson played for the California Emperors in the

. The Emperors folded at the end of the season and Ryerson spent time with two teams, the

Maryland Bays The Maryland Bays were an inaugural franchise of the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1988.They were based in Catonsville, Maryland, and played their games at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. The team joined the Amer ...

and

Salt Lake Sting The Salt Lake Sting was a professional soccer team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They played in the American Professional Soccer League. The club was originally owned by Jack Donovan, who was also the head of the ownership group for Salt Lake Ci ...

during the 1991 APSL season. In 1993, he played twenty games with the

Los Angeles Salsa The Los Angeles Salsa was an American soccer team based in Los Angeles that played in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) and the USISL Pro League. The club played on the campus of California State University, Fullerton at Titan St ...

of APSL, losing to the

Colorado Foxes The Colorado Foxes were a professional soccer team, based in Commerce City, Colorado, that played in the American Professional Soccer League, and later in the A-League, between 1990 and 1997. The Foxes won two APSL titles, in 1992 and 1993. In 1 ...

in the league championship. In 1993, Ryerson was with the

Los Angeles Heat Los Angeles Heat joined the Western Soccer Alliance in 1986. They joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the WSL merged with the American Soccer League, then folded in 1990. The club played in Torrance, California at West Hi ...

of the APSL. On October 28, 1993, the Heat loaned Ryerson to the

Cleveland Crunch The Cleveland Crunch are an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio competing in as a charter member of the Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). The rebranded Crunch returned to indoor play as a member of the MASL 2 i ...

of the National Professional Soccer League. In the summer of 1994, Ryerson played for the San Jose Grizzlies of the

(CISL). In 1995, he moved to the Washington Warthogs before ending the season back with the Grizzlies. In 1996, he played for the

Indianapolis Twisters Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. At the end of the season, the Twisters were renamed the Indiana Twisters. Ryerson began the season with Indiana, but suffered a concussion after only two games. In July, the Twisters traded him and Terry Rowe to the

Anaheim Splash The Anaheim Splash was a U.S. indoor soccer team that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL). It was founded in 1992 as the Los Angeles United, but was sold after the season. The new ownership moved the team to Anaheim, Californi ...

in exchange for Paul McDonnel and a 1998 first round draft pick. Ryerson had played only two games with Indiana this season due to a concussion. In 1997, he also played for the U.S. national

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is t ...

team. Ryerson finished his career in 1998 with the

Baton Rouge Bombers The Baton Rouge Bombers were an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Bombers played in the Eastern Indoor Soccer League during both of the league's seasons from 1997 to 1998. They played their home games in ...

in the

where he was named the EISL Defender of the Year. He also played for Kinna IF for two seasons in the Swedish Second Division in 1988-89.

Coach

Beginning in 1994, Ryerson served as an athletic director and physical education teacher for various schools in

Rancho Mirage, California Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal (part-time) population can exceed 20,000. Incorporated in 1973 and located ...

, namely

Marywood-Palm Valley school Palm Valley School is a private college-preparatory, non-denominational and co-educational school located in Rancho Mirage, California, United States. It was founded in 1952 in Palm Springs, CA. The school moved to Rancho Mirage Rancho Mirag ...

. On June 14, 2008, Ryerson became an assistant coach at the UNLV.Ryerson Returns to Rebels
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryerson, Rich Living people Soccer players from Maryland American soccer coaches American expatriate men's soccer players American Professional Soccer League players Anaheim Splash players Baton Rouge Bombers players California Kickers players Cleveland Crunch players Continental Indoor Soccer League players Indiana Twisters players Los Angeles Salsa players Maryland Bays players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Salt Lake Sting players San Jose Grizzlies players UNLV Rebels men's soccer players UNLV Rebels men's soccer coaches Washington Warthogs players American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Year of birth missing (living people)