Rife spent 11 years playing professionally to go along with his decade of coaching experience.
Anagnost Adds Josh Rife to Coaching Staff
July 23, 2018 | Soccer
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State soccer has hired Josh Rife as an assistant coach, entering the 2018 season. Rife comes from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., where he was the associate head coach.
He served as the Flames assistant coach for the 2016 and 2017 seasons before being promoted to the associate head coach role in March 2018. During his stay in Lynchburg, the Flames made consecutive trips to the Big South Tournament semifinals, winning the league crown in 2016 on their way to an NCAA Tournament berth.
"We are all very excited to welcome Josh to our soccer family," head coach Tom Anagnost said. "Josh comes from a pedigree of great soccer. He is extremely smart, an excellent communicator and a very good worker."
With a decade of coaching experience to go along with his 11-year playing career, Rife brings a wealth of knowledge to the Bulldog staff. The Honolulu, Hawaii, native recently earned his Premier Diploma from the United Soccer Coaches Association earlier this year.
"He will add a ton of value to our staff and will really be a great asset in helping our student-athletes get better in every way," Anagnost said.
Rife got his start in coaching in 2008 when he was hired as an assistant coach for Palm Beach Atlantic's men's program. In 2010, he helped guide the Sailfish to an NCCAA National Championship.
He was hired as the youngest head coach in the history of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) in 2013 when he took over at the helm of the Rochester Lancers. He spent a year handling the daily operations of the club and oversaw the organizations camps and clinics.
Before arriving at Liberty, he served as an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds of the United Soccer League (USL). The Riverhounds tied for second in the league with 53 goals in 2015. Rife also served as head coach for the club's U-23 developmental squad.
"My family and I are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the Mississippi State family," Rife said. "I've watched from a distance and have seen the great strides that Tom, Matt and previous staff have made in creating a successful program. I'm excited to be a part of that."
After beginning his collegiate career at TCU, Rife transferred to Indiana where he started 46 matches and played in two College Cups over the course of his junior and senior seasons. He was a two-time All-Big Ten selection along with earning first-team NSCAA All-Region honors in 2001. The Hoosiers won the Big Ten Tournament in 2001 after winning the regular season championship the year before.
Professionally, Rife split his career between playing outdoors in the USL Professional Division and indoors as part of the MISL and the Extreme Soccer League (XSL). He began a 10-year stint with the Charlotte Eagles of the USL in 2003. The team won a USL2 Championship in 2005, while Rife was voted USL2 Defender of the Year in 2006.
In 2005, he took up indoor soccer as well, signing with the Philadelphia KiXX of the MISL. He earned an All-Rookie team selection in 2006 before being traded to the Detroit Ignition of the XSL. With Detroit he was named the XSL Defensive Player of the Year and led the league with 31 blocked shots on his way to a championship.
He returned to the MISL in 2009, joining the Milwaukee Wave, where he led the league with 36 blocked shots in 20 games. He scored 11 goals and tallied 28 points and was named second team All-MISL. Rife closed his career with a 26-game stint as the captain of the USL's VSI Tampa Bay FC. After earning All-USL PRO honors, he retired from professional soccer.
In eight professional indoor seasons, he played in five finals.
Rife grew up in Denton, Texas, and attended Denton High School where he was a four-year varsity starter. At the age of 11, he toured Norway, Sweden and Denmark with a Venezuelan youth team.
Rife is joined in Starkville by his wife, Christy, and two daughters, Maddison and Kilee. A former member of the Charlotte Lady Eagles and a 2008 UNC Wilmington Hall of Fame Inductee, Christy also served as an assistant at Gardner-Webb.
For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateSOC." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap."
He served as the Flames assistant coach for the 2016 and 2017 seasons before being promoted to the associate head coach role in March 2018. During his stay in Lynchburg, the Flames made consecutive trips to the Big South Tournament semifinals, winning the league crown in 2016 on their way to an NCAA Tournament berth.
"We are all very excited to welcome Josh to our soccer family," head coach Tom Anagnost said. "Josh comes from a pedigree of great soccer. He is extremely smart, an excellent communicator and a very good worker."
With a decade of coaching experience to go along with his 11-year playing career, Rife brings a wealth of knowledge to the Bulldog staff. The Honolulu, Hawaii, native recently earned his Premier Diploma from the United Soccer Coaches Association earlier this year.
"He will add a ton of value to our staff and will really be a great asset in helping our student-athletes get better in every way," Anagnost said.
Rife got his start in coaching in 2008 when he was hired as an assistant coach for Palm Beach Atlantic's men's program. In 2010, he helped guide the Sailfish to an NCCAA National Championship.
He was hired as the youngest head coach in the history of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) in 2013 when he took over at the helm of the Rochester Lancers. He spent a year handling the daily operations of the club and oversaw the organizations camps and clinics.
Before arriving at Liberty, he served as an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds of the United Soccer League (USL). The Riverhounds tied for second in the league with 53 goals in 2015. Rife also served as head coach for the club's U-23 developmental squad.
"My family and I are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the Mississippi State family," Rife said. "I've watched from a distance and have seen the great strides that Tom, Matt and previous staff have made in creating a successful program. I'm excited to be a part of that."
After beginning his collegiate career at TCU, Rife transferred to Indiana where he started 46 matches and played in two College Cups over the course of his junior and senior seasons. He was a two-time All-Big Ten selection along with earning first-team NSCAA All-Region honors in 2001. The Hoosiers won the Big Ten Tournament in 2001 after winning the regular season championship the year before.
Professionally, Rife split his career between playing outdoors in the USL Professional Division and indoors as part of the MISL and the Extreme Soccer League (XSL). He began a 10-year stint with the Charlotte Eagles of the USL in 2003. The team won a USL2 Championship in 2005, while Rife was voted USL2 Defender of the Year in 2006.
In 2005, he took up indoor soccer as well, signing with the Philadelphia KiXX of the MISL. He earned an All-Rookie team selection in 2006 before being traded to the Detroit Ignition of the XSL. With Detroit he was named the XSL Defensive Player of the Year and led the league with 31 blocked shots on his way to a championship.
He returned to the MISL in 2009, joining the Milwaukee Wave, where he led the league with 36 blocked shots in 20 games. He scored 11 goals and tallied 28 points and was named second team All-MISL. Rife closed his career with a 26-game stint as the captain of the USL's VSI Tampa Bay FC. After earning All-USL PRO honors, he retired from professional soccer.
In eight professional indoor seasons, he played in five finals.
Rife grew up in Denton, Texas, and attended Denton High School where he was a four-year varsity starter. At the age of 11, he toured Norway, Sweden and Denmark with a Venezuelan youth team.
Rife is joined in Starkville by his wife, Christy, and two daughters, Maddison and Kilee. A former member of the Charlotte Lady Eagles and a 2008 UNC Wilmington Hall of Fame Inductee, Christy also served as an assistant at Gardner-Webb.
For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateSOC." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap."
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