CONTRIBUTORS

RICH RITCHIE

BI0 OF RICH RITCHIE

Nick Name:    Double R and Richie Rich   

Last Team Coached:    Coaxed out of retirement in September 2008 to pilot the Elite / Pro  LI 495ers for the 2008/2009 season in AIHL as well as an early part of the 2009 / 2010 season.   

Favorite Movies:    Slapshot, Goodfellas, Glengarry Glen Ross, Hang Over, National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, Planes Trains & Automobiles and the 1961 Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

More About Me:    Likes Basket Weaving and Badminton, also enjoys Initating Pranks,Wine Tasting, Golf & Travel

Favorite Foods:     Italian, German and anything that’s sweet

Some Other Facts:     Grew up playing roller hockey in the streets of NYC on Quads and even had the pleasure of playing roller hockey against the Mullen Bothers and Nick Fotiu before their stellar days in the NHL.  Served as captain and selected to represent those teams in all-star games in both roller hockey and baseball, winning the MVP on many occasions.

 While living in Reading, PA played some organized ice hockey.  Also played high school baseball and had a professional tryout with both the Montreal Expos and LA Dodgers.  Founder, President and Head Referee of the Queens Roller Hockey Association for over 20 years, formed and coached an All-star travel team that represented the QRHA, playing under the name of the NYC Molson / Bauer Blaze.  The team changed its name to the NYC Bauer Hyper Cyclones and while on Quads defeated a professional team called the Connecticut Coasters 11-2 of the WRHL in an exhibition game played in Hartford , CT (where two of his players got signed to professional contracts in the parking lot after the game).  The Cyclones participated in the PRO/ELITE Division in all of the top tournaments hosted in the US & Canada, not limited to NY venues and usually faired quite well, winning many tournaments while earning opponents respect. 

As a roller hockey coach has over an 85% lifetime win record with many Tourney Championships under his belt, including the underdog Gold Medal 1995 NARCH win in OT over a highly favored Team Easton along with  a Silver and Gold @ Disney’s Wide World of Sports. He was selected as the “Nassau/Suffolk IHSRH Varsity HS 2002-2003 Coach of the Year” for taking over a last place team with under a .055 win percentage and turned them around to win 40% of their games (6 of last 8) and make the playoffs. (Something he "verbally guaranteed" to all the first week after his team lost a 4-3 nail bitter.)  While under his watchful eye and leadership in three seasons his High School team compiled a .725 win percentage and were one of the top three teams of the division. 

Has served and remains active as Head Referee of various roller hockey leagues throughout LI (including IHSRH ) and the City Boroughs.  He is still involved in softball and in addition to organizing the Queens Lighted Softball Association (formerly Empire softball League) pitches modified softball on Sundays in leagues throughout Queens .   Despite managing a modified softball team that “Three- Peated ” (winning 3 straight championships) he decided to retire from all coaching and managing over six years ago.  

However in September 2008, he was asked to come out of retirement, to take the reigns of the Long Island 495ers where he led them to their 1st AIHL New England Regular Season and Playoff Champion titles maintaining better than an 80% winning percentage and was minutes away (losing final game to Pittsburgh) from his team representing the conference in the AIHL Finals in Las Vegas.   

After a bitter dispute in Feb 2010 with the 495ers front office (with the team coasting and maintaining first place in the Division) he parted ways.  In mid 2010, efforts to start a team out of a local Bethpage facility fell short, however in July 2010 a mutual agreement was reached with the General Manager / Hockey Director of World Gym and he was offered and accepted the Head Coaching / Director of Player Development position and hence the NY Terror was born.