After years of practically begging Annette Richardson to coach Clarkston’s soccer team, Clarkston Athletic Director Dan Fife got his wish.
‘In the past I did not want or felt I could not handle the committment involved in coaching,? said Richardson. ‘I just decided I would do it this year. Now that I have taken the job, I think about it constantly.?
Richardson has taught at Sashabaw Middle School for the past eight years and her coaching career is as diverse as it is long.
Since playing for OU’s women’s soccer team, before the program went varsity, she coached under-14 teams in Bloomfield, was an assistant coach for Detroit Country Day for two years, headed up the freshman team at Clarkston and served as an assistant for the Wolves for another two years.
The job at CHS will be Richardson’s first varsity head coaching opportunity.
‘It will be nice for the girls to have a woman role model who still plays the sport,? said Richardson, who still competes in local and national soccer tournaments.
While she was originally tentative about taking over the soccer program at CHS, Richardson has dove into the team full bore.
She mentioned she can not stop thinking about the season ahead and the different strategies involved in coaching.
In her free time, when she is not playing soccer, Richardson enjoys playing golf.