Coach Ricky Clarke enters his first year as the head women's soccer coach. Coach Clarke joins the Lakers after 20+ years of coaching experience at the youth, collegiate, and professional levels. He also brings in a deep background in coaching education and player development.
rior to Clayton State, Coach Clarke was the Interim Head Coach for the Houston Dash of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). As an interim Head Coach, Clarke was responsible for the management of the team, the execution of individual development programs, and track player progress and growth. He also was instrumental in representing the team in different media engagements.
In 2021, Clarke was an Assistant Women's Soccer Coach for Georgia State University where the Panthers went 9-4-7 and reached the Semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Coach Clarke mentored and directed three NCAA DI Southeast All-Region selections. Prior to his time at Georgia State, Ricky was an assistant coach for the Seattle Reign, who competes in the NWSL. He was mentored by and was under the direction of current Angel City FC Head Coach Sam Laity.
Before his arrival at the professional ranks, Coach Clarke served as a National Education Staff member for United Soccer Coaches (USC) from 2013-2021 while also serving as the Technical Director for SSA Soccer in Atlanta. At SSA, he managed a variety of levels and implemented different coaching philosophies and player development techniques. In 2015, Coach Clarke was appointed as the Director of Scouting & Player Recruitment for the NASL club Atlanta Silverbacks where he was mainly responsible for creating scouting reports, managing the recruiting process of players and building player profiles. Coach Clarke also served in other various coaching roles with Rush Soccer in Milton, Ga., and in California with the Pleasanton Rage ECNL, Mission Valley United, and NOGA Soccer.
Coach Clarke holds a variety of coaching certifications including a USSF A, B, and Youth license while also earning a USC Master Diploma, Premier Diploma, and DOC Diploma. Clarke is a native of Camberwall, London and attended the University of Bedfordshire where he played in two National University Finals. Ricky also played semi-pro soccer at Langford Club FC and Harpenden Town FC.
