Daniel Ridenhour to take over Winthrop soccer program
Winthrop announced its new men’s soccer coach on Thursday. Rich Posipanko’s replacement will come from the office about 10 feet away, longtime assistant Daniel Ridenhour.
“We’re happy to announce Daniel’s promotion today,” said athletic director Tom Hickman. “We’re happy to have already on staff somebody I feel can carry our program forward and continue the success that we’ve had here.”
Ridenhour played at Old Dominion and joined the Winthrop program in 2004 after several seasons as an assistant at Georgia State. During his 12 years in Rock Hill, Ridenhour has experienced it all in college soccer, including several games where he was the acting head coach because of Posipanko absences. Those include the 2012 NCAA first round game against SMU, which Winthrop won on penalty kicks.
“He’s given me a lot of responsibility,” Ridenhour said about his mentor, the retiring Posipanko. “He’s basically said, ‘your job is to help us win games.’ I think my philosophy and his philosophy are very similar; we want to put the best product on the field to compete for championships.”
The sheer number of applicants is indicative of the success Posipanko brought to Winthrop’s program, including six NCAA tournament trips and a slew of players that turned professional. Hickman felt staying in-house with the hire was the right move.
“It helps with the transition process,” he said. “I’m sure coach Ridenhour will put his own spin on the system that we’ve had and maybe make some changes. But I don’t think it would be the same as if you were bringing in an entirely new staff.”
Ridenhour - who becomes just the fourth coach in school history after Dr. Jim Casada, Frank Griffin and Posipanko - does need to hire assistant coaches soon because Winthrop soccer needs new players. The Eagles lose 10 seniors from this year’s NCAA team, including captains Jordi Lluch and Magnus Thorsson, two of the best to wear the school’s colors.
Ridenhour conducted all of the Winthrop soccer player exit interviews at the end of the recently completed season. There was uncertainty about which direction the program would take, but that’s been eased now with Thursday’s announcement.
“The big thing for me is the players know that I’m here. They’ve seen who I am and what I’m all about. I’m gonna be someone that works. I’m not gonna change who I am,” said Ridenhour. “It’s a big seat to fill, big seat. He’s been here 27 years, set the program’s standards of excellence. You can’t question that.”
This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 4:05 PM with the headline "Daniel Ridenhour to take over Winthrop soccer program."