Ballard FC appoints former Sounder James Riley as new head coach ahead of 2024 season
By Charles Hamaker
Ballard, WA – The questions regarding who will lead Ballard FC in the year 2024, as they defend their USL League Two title, can finally be put to rest. Today, the club announced that former Seattle Sounders FC player and longtime MLS veteran James Riley will be taking over as the head coach, bringing a vast wealth of experience in soccer whether that’s on the pitch itself or through the realm of coaching as well. Through his vast career on the pitch and more recently in coaching you futbol, Riley has been able to gain strong respect in the Pacific Northwest, so this hiring likely won’t come as a surprise to many around the sound. With an exciting year ahead, Ballard faithful should feel confident as their club looks to defend their title.
“It is a great honor to be chosen as the new Head Coach of Ballard FC. The club’s impressive history of success and unwavering dedication to excellence for the community of Ballard and the Greater Seattle region is truly remarkable. With a humble and servant leadership approach, I am excited to lead this exceptional team into 2024 and beyond. I feel incredibly privileged and enthusiastic to contribute to the growth and success of this remarkable project.”
Photo courtesy of Ballard FC
Bringing plenty of experience to a new role
Many Seattle natives will know Riley from his time as a member of the Sounders during his eleven-season career in the MLS as well as his two appearances with the Tacoma Stars indoor squad, as James played with seven teams at the MLS level and two at the USL Premier Development level (Carolina Dynamo and Colorado Springs Blizzard) across his professional career. It’s just another example of how Ballard has managed to engage fans organically and committed to local soccer. Throughout his career in Major League Soccer, Riley was selected in different expansion drafts three times, in 2007 (By San Jose), 2008 (By Seattle), and 2011 (By Montreal). As a defender, Riley didn’t earn a ton of accolades and didn’t particularly get some of the shine that attacking players do, but the longevity of his career and the five U.S. Open Cup wins are nothing to scoff at.
“We are delighted to welcome James Riley to Ballard FC as our new head coach. His impressive track record both on and off the field aligns perfectly with our vision for the future of the club. With James at the helm, we are confident in our ability to continue competing at the highest level.”
James Riley during his time with the Seattle Sounders FC (Photos courtesy of Seattle Sounders FC)
In addition to joining the Seattle Sounders broadcast team after his playing career ended, Riley explored several avenues that related to player development, including being appointed as the MLS’s director of player relations in 2016. His life from that point until today’s appointing as head coach of Ballard has included founding “JR7 SOCCER” which is a soccer training and mentorship that takes focus on “helping high-performance habits of college and professional soccer players.” Outside of his own venture, Riley has worked with “Elite Player Development” as a head and assistant coach, and Bellevue Rush soccer club as the President, Director of Coaching, and as a head coach. It’s obvious, when looking through different experiences in coaching that Riley has gone through, that helping develop players and the role that coaching provides is important to Riley.
“I grew up with a single mother and so, in some regards, the good coaches that I had were like father figures.”
A big year ahead
Ballard’s goals obviously begin with defending their title won at Starfire Stadium last year, but it isn’t going to be simple or easy on them as the challenges of USL League Two and the twisting turns of American soccer present themselves. The club has to work with the temporary move to Memorial stadium for this season, as there are currently ADA improvements being made to their home of Interbay, so a few issues of trying to fill a larger venue, a change in scenery for the dedicated fans, lack of beer garden (At least one in the venue, as that’s not allowed at Memorial because it’s owned by Seattle Public Schools), amongst general things that come with playing in a new building.
The club has some new local opponents to deal with, as West Seattle, Bellevue, and Tacoma (The Stars will now have a team in USLL2, which is interesting considering Riley played with their indoor squad) have all joined the Pacific Division and will surely look to upset Ballard as the regions previous default club in this league. Not only that in means of competition, but Ballard will be competing in the U.S. Open Cup this year, and Riley has some experience in that field having won that trophy three times during his playing career, three of them as a member of the Sounders.
What’s next?
Following the appointment of Riley to the head coaching position, Ballard FC looks ahead to what should be a busy year three in their existence that will pose new and unique challenges. Not only will the club have to defend their USL League Two title win, and in a new stadium as they’ll call Memorial stadium home for the year with Interbay stadium being worked on, but they’ll have to deal with additions to the Pacific Division as West Seattle, Bellevue, and Tacoma have all put together teams this offseason. Fielding another strong roster remains one of the bigger objectives for the club this offseason as they look to win back-to-back titles, and while there are potential rumors of a big return, nothing sits in stone quite yet so there should be plenty of excitement in looking forward to further updates from Ballard FC.
While there will certainly be further announcements surrounding the club, whether it be the news of new players or other things that come about, a few notable periods of time to look forward to when it comes to Ballard FC include mid-March and May. The clubs U.S. Open Cup campaign begins in mid-March, as they’ll look to carve their own path in a tournament that has gone through some controversy over the past few months, and May is when the USL League Two regular season will kick off. The U.S. Open Cup, in addition to the challenge it already is, will provide Riley with an immediate test as the roster will be put to the iron ahead of their traditional play.
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