Founder & National Coaching Director

Jim Risher

Founder & National Coaching Director

Jim has established himself as one of the brightest young professionals in youth soccer, founding the globally recognized Eurotech® group of companies at the age of 23 in the midst of his playing career. Living in soccer crazy Germany for the first third of his life  provided him the environment and influence needed to fuel his passion for the world’s #1 sport and his innovative teaching and coaching methodologies.

Eurotech® Soccer Academies, Inc. (eurotechsocceracademy.com), North America’s #1 Soccer Camp Company® and now in its 24th year of operation is a nationally recognized soccer training program for boys and girls ages 9-18. As the Founder and National Director of Coaching, Jim and his team of national and international coaches have been instrumental in elevating thousands of players, teams, and clubs to new levels of excellence with his worldwide soccer education programs. Since it’s inception in 1990, Eurotech® has worked with over 50,000 youth soccer players in North America and 8,000 in one summer alone. 
 
During his tenure as National Director, his coaching staff and guest clinicians have included many past and present U.S. National Team and MLS coaches, foreign national team coaches, technical directors, and international instructors from Germany, Italy, Spain, Norway, Holland, Sweden, England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Portugal, Slovakia, Switzerland, Denmark and FIFA. His past and present staff have been comprised of coaches like Phil Wheddon (U.S. National Team Coach & Syracuse University), Sander Claassen (KNVB), Ruud Dokter (Dutch National & Olympic Team Coach-KNVB), Gavin Levey (Aberdeen FC-Scotland), Thomas Ruesink (De Graafschaap-Holland), Dan Gaspar (Portuguese National Team Coach & University of Hartford), Cesar Rizzo (USL Hampton Roads Piranhas Coach), Dez McAleenan (MLS NY Red Bulls Coach), Fraser Carver (Former U-21 Scottish National Team), Andy Dallas (Scottish National Team, Dundee United FC & Livingston FC), Arthur Brammer (Fulham FC), Patrick van Seeters (Feeyenoord) and Jorg Halfenberg (Alemannia Aachen & Borussia Mönchengladbach) to name a shortlist of many. In addition to developing a network of international coaches, Jim has also placed many players with professional clubs in Europe over the years, the most recent in England (Portsmouth FC), Holland (De Graafschaap) and Germany (Alemannia Aachen). Jim also worked under former Scottish National Team Coach, Craig Brown and was invited to work with many of the Scottish Football Association national coaching staff while attending the highly regarded SFA Coaching Schools programs.    

In addition, hundreds of players who have attended Eurotech® Soccer Academy programs and trained under Jim are now playing with the State ODP, Regional ODP, College, National Team and the MLS.  Eurotech® alumni include Justin Mapp (U.S. National Team and MLS DC United, Chicago Fire and recently traded to the Philadelphia Union) and Jamie Gunderson (Methodist College & MISL Norfolk Sharx) and many others.        
    
Jim also founded Eurotech® Soccer Tours (eurotechsoccertours.com), North America’s #1 Soccer Tour Company® which caters to inbound and outbound professional, college, high school and club teams. Eurotech® provides all-inclusive international group and team travel services to the United Kingdom, Europe, South America, Australia and South Africa for it’s many clients. With offices in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, Jim has built the Eurotech® Soccer Tours brand into one of the most respected sports travel agencies in the industry.
 
He is also Founder and former Director of the International Soccer Conditioning Institute (ISCI), the only institute of its kind in the world dedicated to continued research and development in soccer specific conditioning methods and techniques from around the world. As a Soccer Conditioning Specialist (SCS), Jim has attended numerous conditioning conferences, interviewed specialists from all over the world and amassed a vast library of international soccer conditioning resources.
 
His articles, special columns and company features have appeared in national soccer publications like Inside Soccer Magazine (Canada), FreeKick Magazine (Canada), Eurosport, NSCAA Journal, Success in Soccer Magazine, Soccer Coaching International, Soccer Performance Conditioning Magazine, Soccer America, Soccer News, Southern Soccer Scene, Student Athlete Magazine and The Instep Magazine, in addition to numerous regional, state, local soccer and sports publications in addition to numerous online forums, blogs and websites.

He is also a regularly featured speaker and clinician at international, national, regional and state soccer shows. Over the years, he has conducted live presentations and/or field sessions at the NSCAA Annual Convention, USYSA Annual Convention, Grassroots Live (United Kingdom), Bayerischer Fussballverband (German DFB) annual meetings, Soccer Champions Coaches Clinics and many state and regional youth soccer association shows from Virginia to Toronto, Canada. His companies also receive regular press coverage and in the span of two decades have received worldwide media recognition from all over the United States, Canada, Europe and the United Kingdom. Jim has also built lasting relationships with many professional clubs like Celtic FC, Rangers, Tottenham FC, Bolton Wanderers FC, Aberdeen FC and De Graafshaap to name a few. His international coaching staff recruitment efforts over twenty years have created a “who’s who” of professional coaching staff from all over the world and Eurotech’s network of official Licensees, Regional and International Directors span the globe. 
 
He is a past or present member of the following international coaching organizations:
 
USSF Soccer Coaches Organization
National Soccer Coaches Association of America
Scottish FA Technical Association for Managers, Coaches & Trainers
SITREPESP-Syndicate of Professional Trainers-Sau Paulo-Brazil
 
His youth playing career started in the highly acclaimed German programs in the Kaiserslautern area. His career and promising future as a "Player to be Watched" was highlighted at an early age by regularly playing matches in front of 38,000 fans at Fritz-Walter Stadion (formerly Betzenbergstadion), home of 1. FC Kaiserslautern of the German Bundesliga while still in his early teens. Fritz-Walter Stadium was also host to the famous USA-Italy match in the 2006 World Cup that ended in a 1-1 tie. Jim went on to play for NJCAA powerhouse and top twenty school, Sauk Valley College outside of Chicago, Illinois and led them to a national ranking of 16th in the country before moving on to NAIA standout Teikyo Marycrest University. He was an Illinois Prairie State Games 1st team selection player three years in a row following his college playing career followed by appearances with several teams in the USISL and short stints with the Chicago Power, Wichita Wings, Canton Invaders and Dayton Dynamo of the former National Professional Soccer League (NPSL), now called the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). Following several recurring knee and foot injuries and a final attempt to train in both Europe and South America, his playing career ended and he transitioned into coaching pursuits full-time.   
 
Jim’s partial list of enviable soccer coaching achievements include:
NSCAA® Advanced National & Youth Diplomas
USSF National B License
Scottish FA B License
National Brazilian A License
Soccer Conditioning Specialist (SCS)
Founder & Chairman ISCI™
Olympic Development Program (ODP) Assessor
Nationally Published Author & Clinician
adidas® National Clinician
Former High School Coach
Former College Coach
Former State ODP Coach
Former Regional ODP Coach
Former Club Technical Director & DOC