Richard DeGraff- Murphy

Coach Rich holds a USYS E License and is an NFHS Accredited Interscholastic Coach. He started with the Rice Boys Soccer Program in 2019 as the Assistant Varsity Coach. As a testament to our growing positive culture, the program began to expand and in 2020, he assumed the JV Boys Soccer Head Coach position. He continued to work closely with the Varsity Program while leading the JV squad and in 2023 Coach Rich was named the Head Coach of the Rice Varsity Boys Soccer Program.

Coach Rich is from Watertown, Connecticut where he played recreational soccer. He continued playing into his teens for his high school earning top accolades and with various club teams in Connecticut. He played Division III soccer for three years at Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts. Unfortunately, an injury kept him off the pitch during his sophomore year. He earned his B.S. in Criminal Justice at Western New England University. Today, he is still a player, playing in various men’s leagues throughout the year in the Burlington area. He has been coaching at various age levels since 2009. From 2017 to 2022 he served as the president of the Fairfax-Fletcher Soccer Club, a youth program in Northern Vermont with approximately 250 soccer athletes.

Coach Rich is currently the Director of Risk Management for the Vermont Soccer Association. In 2022 he obtained his U.S.S.F. Referee License to learn the game from a different perspective and to give back to the game in an expanded way. His experience lends credence to his ability to foster and raise young soccer athletes and move them into prominent Varsity roles. Perhaps most importantly, his genuine desire to support young athletes - at all stages of skill and development - is central to his coaching mission.

Coach Rich owns his own business. He is a father to three wonderful teenagers and is supported by his
lovely wife, Christina.