Rich Schreiner, an assistant coach for two seasons at St. Bonaventure University, has been named an assistant coach for the women’s soccer program, effective February 19.
At Bonaventure, Schreiner was the women’s soccer program’s recruiting coordinator and assistant summer camp director, was directly involved with all aspects of practice, and assisted with fitness training and video breakdown and exchange. In 2007, he helped land the 14th-ranked recruiting class in the Northeast Region in a poll conducted by Soccer Buzz Magazine.
“It was always going to take a very special opportunity for me to consider leaving St. Bonaventure,” Schreiner said. “Joining the women’s soccer family at was simply too exciting to pass up. Coach (Julie) Woodward has created a culture in which the student-athletes are competitive, mature, and successful both on the field and in the classroom. The young women who play for know that they have the opportunity to be great, and I am proud that I will be one of the many people helping them reach their full potential. I can’t wait to get to work.”
Before going to St. Bonaventure, Schreiner spent two years as an assistant coach at , assisting with on-the-field training, organization of practice and game plans, strength training, recruiting, and travel planning. He started his coaching career as an assistant at in 2003, where he helped the program improve by seven games from the previous season.
Schreiner has also been an instructor at various soccer camps throughout the country, including the Region I Olympic Development Program camp in Providence, R.I., and the Texas A&M women’s soccer camp in College Station, Tex. Originally from Indianapolis, Ind., he earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2003 from DePauw University, where he was a four-year letterwinner on the men’s soccer team.
“I am tremendously excited about Rich joining our program and look forward to working with him. I think his experience at St. Bonaventure will be very valuable in our transition to Division I. He has proven to be a great recruiter and has a wealth of coaching experience. More importantly, he is a terrific person whose values and ideals seem to be a perfect fit with both the university and specifically our women’s soccer program,” said head coach Julie Woodward.
Schreiner joins a program coming off a 17-3-1 season which included its third NCAA Tournament appearance in four years and a final national ranking of #18. In the fall of 2008, the women’s soccer team begins the process of becoming a Division I program, playing a full Division I schedule during the reclassification year.