Former Viterbo Standout Signs Contract with Professional Club in Iceland
La Crosse, Wis. - Former Viterbo University Men's Soccer player Gregg Ryder (Newcastle, England) recently signed a contract to coach for IBV Vestmannaeyja second team and to play for KFS Vestmannaeyja. IBV Vestmannaeyja is a semi professional soccer club located just off the south coast of Iceland while KFS is similar club located in the same city.
"Coaching at an Icelandic Premier League club is a fantastic opportunity for me," commented Ryder. "Being exposed to high level players and coaches on a day-to-day basis creates a wonderful learning environment, and is something I will really thrive on. The opportunity to work with academy players as well as being the head coach of a group of players who are on the cusp of becoming professionals is exactly where I need to be at this stage in my career. I only hope that I am able to utilize such an amazing opportunity in order to progress my career as a professional coach."
In terms of coaching, Ryder will be the head coach of the IBV reserve team and will also have opportunities to coach several academy teams. This team plays in the Icelandic Premier Reserve League and is a feeder team to the IBV top team which has several international players from all over the world and will be playing in the UEFA cup, one of Europe's biggest club competitions. When not coaching, Ryder will have the opportunity to play for the KFS team which is a member of the Icelandic 3rd division. As a feeder club to IBV, these players are brought into gain their first experiences of playing professional soccer in hopes to move up to the IBV first team. Making things even more special for Ryder is that the parent club of IBV is Newcastle United of the English Premier League. Ryder grew up and started his soccer career in New Castle.
"I'm delighted for Gregg and what he has achieved," stated Viterbo Men's Soccer Head Coach Andy Lee. "It's a testament to the hard work and dedication that Gregg puts in as a player and a coach. Gregg is 100% committed to a career in the game, and I'm sure he will progress through the ranks very quickly."
This past fall, Ryder finished his Viterbo career as a three year starter for the V-Hawks. Ryder played an integral part in resurgence of the V-Hawk soccer program and helped lead them to their best season in over eight years as a junior. For his career, Ryder played in 45 games and recorded 12 points (4 goals and 4 assists). A forward and two-year team captain, Ryder graduated this past December with a degree in broadfield social studies.