Clemson Hires Pat Richards as Director of Soccer Athletic Coaching – Clemson Tigers Official Athletics Web site

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson Athletics introduced currently that it has employed Pat Richards as Director of Football Athletic Education.

Richards’ employing was the end result of Clemson’s national look for to come across a leading addition to its Sports Drugs team. Members of Clemson’s administration, which include Senior Associate Athletic Director for Pupil Providers and Functionality Natalie Honnen and Clemson team physicians Dr. Len Reeves, Dr. Steve Martin and Dr. Tenley Murphy assisted manual look for attempts in conjunction with Head Mentor Dabo Swinney and Chief of Soccer Administration Woody McCorvey. Richards’ addition reinforces Clemson Sports Medicine’s said motivation to supplying up-to-day professional medical treatment to student-athletes and advocation of holistic life style modifications to boost athletic leadership.

“We are incredibly proud to welcome Pat to Clemson,” Honnen mentioned. “His selecting is a testomony to the collaboration of so lots of folks. We are appreciative of the precious enter from our workforce physicians and other authorities in the athletic schooling and health-related communities, as nicely as the benchmarking and analysis accomplished by Coach Swinney and Woody McCorvey. We are thrilled to insert anyone of Pat’s caliber to Clemson Sporting activities Medicine.”

Richards arrives to Clemson just after acquiring most lately served as Associate Director of Sports Drugs at the University of Houston, doing the job as the head coach for the Cougars’ 12-2 period and No. 17 last nationwide ranking final 12 months. His skilled experience began as an athletic coaching intern with the Dallas Cowboys in the course of the 2012 NFL year. In the a long time to adhere to, he served as a graduate assistant at Utah (2013-14), as an athletic instruction intern at Louisville (2015), as an associate athletic trainer at Mississippi Point out (2016-18) and as the affiliate director of athletics drugs at Louisiana (2019-20) prior to his most up-to-date function at Houston.

“I’m truly energized about the retain the services of of Pat Richards,” reported Swinney, whose complete responses are integrated underneath. “As we truly honed in and narrowed down our look for, Pat actually received the task. Pat is very extremely encouraged the two by the finest of the most effective in the college or university ranks and also the very best of the finest in the pros. He’s incredibly nicely-respected, pretty smart. He’s a younger, dynamic leader. He’s youthful but he has a ton of working experience and a ton of connections equally in the clinical planet and in the modern day period of athletic instruction.”

A indigenous of Dallas, Texas, Richards acquired his bachelor’s diploma in athletic education from TCU in 2013 right before earning a master’s degree in exercise and activity science from the College of Utah in 2015.

“I am both enthusiastic and honored to join Clemson Soccer,” Richards said. “I recognize the religion that [Director of Athletics] Graham Neff, Dabo Swinney, the complete Clemson Sports Medication crew and every person in the Clemson Household has demonstrated in me, and it is my privilege to serve Clemson university student-athletes. I am also grateful for the work Danny Poole has completed right here for practically 40 years, and I can not hold out to develop on the legacy of this role and proceed to posture Clemson as a chief in athletic training and scholar-athlete health and fitness and wellness.”

Richards results in being only the fourth individual to formally provide as Clemson Football’s head athletic trainer given that 1948. Clemson Athletic Corridor of Famer Herman McGee held the purpose from 1948-57 amidst his 46 complete decades of provider at Clemson that integrated roles overseeing athletic grounds and equipment. Although there was no specified head coach in 1958, legendary extended-time Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves coach Dave Pursley quickly assisted in that capacity alongside McGee through Clemson’s 1958 ACC title year although also helping MLB farm golf equipment. Fred Hoover, a Clemson Athletic Corridor of Famer and 2002 South Carolina Athletic Corridor of Fame inductee, led soccer training attempts as head athletic coach from 1959-98.

Most not too long ago, Danny Poole served as Clemson’s Director of Sporting activities Medicine across the 1999-2021 football seasons as section of his about 40 a long time at Clemson. In February, Swinney announced that Poole would be stepping absent from his working day-to-working day position as athletic coach and transitioning into a new position inside Clemson Football and Clemson Athletics. Past month, the South Carolina Property of Representatives introduced and adopted a resolution to acknowledge and honor Poole for his company to Clemson pupil-athletes.

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Comprehensive Responses FROM HEAD Mentor DABO SWINNEY:
“I’m truly psyched about the use of Pat Richards. [Chief of Football Administration] Woody McCorvey and I really did a ton of research and a whole lot of qualifications to uncover the most effective individual to join Clemson Football. We had a extremely little pool of candidates that checked all the bins we were hunting for immediately after we reached out to the finest of the very best each at the higher education amount and at the pro amounts. As we genuinely honed in and narrowed down our lookup, Pat genuinely received the work.

“Pat is very really suggested each by the very best of the finest in the college or university ranks and also the ideal of the very best in the professionals. He’s incredibly very well-respected, incredibly clever. He’s a young, dynamic leader. He’s youthful but he has a ton of practical experience and a ton of connections both of those in the professional medical environment and in the contemporary era of athletic coaching. I’m definitely enthusiastic about his addition and welcoming him and his spouse, Stephanie. I’m happy he was equipped to have a minor little bit of time to be a fly on the wall and get to know our gamers a minimal bit just before officially taking about immediately after the Spring Sport.

“This is a terrific changeover for us. And, yet again, I’m grateful for Danny Poole and his 39 many years below at Clemson — just astounding when you think about that. I’m glad that Danny will be keeping about and transitioning to an administrative position, and I’m super fired up to have Pat joining us right here at Clemson.”