Coach Marks 20th Year at RSS

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[size=12pt]Coach marks 20th year at RSS [/size]

By Dave Rogers
The Baytown Sun
Published January 12, 2010


Jim Richter didn’t ride into Baytown on a covered wagon, or a on a sailing ship coming up Galveston Bay.

But he’s a pioneer, nonetheless.

Richter was on the scene in 1983 for soccer’s first season as a UIL-sanctioned sport, serving as head coach at Clear Lake High School.

And the University of Texas grad is beginning his 20th season as head coach for Sterling’s boys soccer team.

“Soccer wasn’t very big when I started at Clear Lake,” Richter recalls. “There were only like five teams in our district: us, La Porte, Dickinson, Brazoswood, and Sugar Land Clements.

“And then after I came to Baytown, they still had all the 4A and 5A teams playing in one division and we were in a district with the whole Golden Triangle: West Brook, Beaumont Central, West Orange-Stark, Little Cypress-Mauriceville and Vidor.

“I remember Silsbee was in our district and they had two girls that started as fullbacks for them.”

The UIL did not separate its soccer into classifications until 1999 and still has only Class 5A and Class 4A subdivisions. But it has sponsored girls competition since the beginning in 1983, although not all soccer-playing schools had girls teams.

Barbers Hill is an area school that does not compete in soccer.

“Soccer has really grown. I have really seen it evolve,” Richter said.

Richter came within one win of taking a Clear Lake team to the state soccer tournament in the sport’s early years. In the latter part of the 80s, he started a soccer program at Pearland High School.

At Sterling, his teams have won four district championships and, in 1995, a sectional championship.

He’s probably won 200 or more games as a coach, but can’t say for sure.

“I’ve never been a big record keeper,” he said. “I wish I had kept better track.”

Sterling’s boys are coming off a runnerup finish in district a year ago and an overtime, 1-0 bidistrict loss to Sam Rayburn that ended their season at 10-10-5.

Richter’s top returners are midfielder Michael Pittman, leading goal scorer Alex Martinez and defender Jose Herrera, who was district newcomer of the year last year.

“We’re pretty young this year. I’ve got a lot of young people,” the coach said.

The Rangers will be staging their home season opener tonight at 7 p.m., hosting La Porte at the Sterling Auxiliary Field.

They opened the season 0-2 last weekend at the frosty Friendswood tournament.