The Kansas City Wizards announced today the hiring of former Wizards forward Paul Rideout as head coach for the KCW Juniors Youth Development Program. Rideout, 42, will serve as head coach of all three Kansas City Wizards Juniors squads (U-17, U-16 and U-15 boys). His vast knowledge of the game of soccer and diverse playing experiences ensure that the Juniors will train with the utmost level of professionalism within the Kansas City Wizards philosophy.
"I'm very excited to work with someone of the caliber of Paul Rideout," KCW Juniors Youth Director Chris Cissell said. "Being a former Wizards player and having played in what is widely considered the best professional soccer league in the world, the English Premier League, plus the fact that he grew up playing and practicing in youth academies similar to what we are starting here, He is a great fit for this job."
Rideout and Cissell will work closely together to develop the direction and curriculum for the KCW Juniors. Rideout will be in charge of the implementation of tactics for training sessions, tournaments and individual games.
"Paul Rideout has an immense amount of experience at all levels of the game," Technical Director Peter Vermes said. "It's great to bring back a former Wizards player who has also coached and been involved heavily in the local soccer community for the last few years. His having played soccer at the highest level around the world will help to mold and shape our future Wizards players."
Rideout came to the United States in 1998 to play for the Kansas City Wizards. He appeared in 27 games for the Wizards that season, starting 23. He scored 4 goals and added 3 assists in over 2,000 minutes. Rideout is ready to take on a new challenge within the organization.
"I'm very excited to be able to coach at this level," Rideout said. "I feel development programs like ours are the next step for American soccer like they are in England. Here it has only been club and college. This is the next step; to have an inside track for youth players to make it to the professional ranks in this country."
Rideout was born in England and turned pro at age 16. Rideout played forward for several years for the England U18 and U21 National teams, scoring over 30 career goals. He was top scorer for many clubs he played for, including: Swindon Town FC (England), Aston Villa FC (England) and AS Bari (Italy). Paul also played for world-renowned clubs such as Southampton FC (English Premiership), Glasgow Rangers FC (Scottish Premiership) and Everton FC (English Premiership). He helped Rangers win the SPL title in 1992 and the Scottish FA Cup the same year. Rideout then joined Everton from 1992-1997 and is probably best known for scoring the winning goal in 1995 for Everton to beat Manchester United 1-0 in the English FA Cup Final.
Rideout went on to play in China from 1997-98, where he was voted Best Overseas player in the Chinese League before joining the Wizards for 1998. He then returned to the Chinese league until 2000.
Rideout finished his playing career with Tranmere Rovers FC, (League One, England) where he played until May 2002 and was an assistant with Tranmere Rovers Youth Academy. He then returned to the United States and began coaching in the area for KCFC Alliance Soccer Club. He had obtained his USSF "B" license in January 1999 and is a permanent resident of the United States. He coached for KCFC until 2007, capturing many tournament titles along the way.
