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| GRESHAM RILEY AWARD RECIPIENTS 2006 |
 Horst
and Helen Richardson
In their 40-plus years at Colorado College, Horst and Helen Richardson
have become not only the face of the school’s soccer and German
programs, but also the heart and soul. Between Horst’s coaching
and Helen’s hospitality, hundreds of graduates remain strongly connected
to the college. Theirs is a unique partnership that has helped shape one
of the most successful soccer programs in the United States.
The son of a non-commissioned German officer killed in World War II,
Horst Richardson immigrated to California in 1955 at age 14. After attending
high school and college in California, he moved to Colorado Springs in
1965 to teach German language and literature at Colorado College. In 1966,
Horst took the reins of the soccer team from then-coach Bill Boddington
and has since amassed near-legendary coaching credentials.
He has compiled a distinguished record of 456 victories,
249 defeats and 55 ties. He has taken the Tigers to the NCAA playoffs
16 times, including three of the last five seasons and nine of the last
14, while guiding them to six conference championships in the old Rocky
Mountain Intercollegiate Soccer League. His 456 career victories ranks
fifth nationwide among active Division III men’s soccer coaches.
Beyond his mastery of soccer coaching, Horst possesses the unique ability
to understand and respond to the needs of his players, both athletically
and academically. He must recruit students who are not only excellent
soccer players, but also are able to withstand the academic rigors of
a prestigious private college. “Finding that needle in the haystack
is a Herculean task,” he says. “That challenge is an annual
thing that really whets my appetite.”
 Horst,
with his wife Helen, a former schoolteacher whom he married in 1967, are
more than just coach and coach’s wife to the hundreds of players
who have passed through their doors. They are mentors, advisors, trip
chaperones, but above all, friends.
Helen is the ultimate team “mom,” preparing meals for the
players, baking cookies for their birthdays, organizing their many trips
abroad with the team, lending an ear or hand when needed, videotaping
games, and helping Horst run youth soccer camps for 18 years.
“She is my right hand and the person behind the coach who makes
the coach great,” Horst says. “Without her, we’d be
in trouble.”
After teaching German language and literature to thousands of students
as well as staging, with Helen, plays in German to help students learn
the language better, Horst retired from teaching in May. But he plans
to helm the soccer team for a few more years, with Helen omnipresent.
They have two children, Erik and Stacia, both of whom have a B.A. and
M.A.T. from CC, and a grandchild, Indigo.
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