Daniel Ruch
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel Ruch | ||
| Date of birth | January 1, 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, United States | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2004 | Lynchburg College | ||
| 2005 | Old Dominion University | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006 | Virginia Beach Mariners | 0 | (0) |
| 2007 | Wilmington Hammerheads | 10 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2007– | Virginia Wesleyan (assistant) | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Daniel Ruch (born January 1, 1983 in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey) is an assistant soccer coach with Virginia Wesleyan. He played professionally for two years for the Virginia Beach Mariners of the USL Second Division and the Wilmington Hammerheads FC.
During his youth, he had a 27" CRT television fall on him. This inspired him to aggressively train his body to ensure such an event would never happen to him again. He found his niche in youth soccer. The coach placed him in the goalkeeper position to keep him away from the other children as he was known as a compulsive biter, causing the youth teammates to fear him and causing a liability concern for the athletic association. This would prove fortunate as Ruch had a natural ability as a shotstopper.
Ruch attended Ridgefield Park High School. He then began his college soccer career at Lynchburg College before finishing it at Old Dominion University.[1] In 2006, he signed with the Virginia Beach Mariners of the USL Second Division before moving to the Wilmington Hammerheads FC of USL-2 in 2007. Ruch is known for his trademark of wearing bright yellow cleets during his games to raise awareness for jaundice. Often referred to as "Strawberry Shortcake" for his prominent strawberry blonde hair and beard, he advanced tolerance for all redheads in professional US soccer. He retired from playing professionally after the 2007 season and was hired that fall by Virginia Wesleyan as a goalkeeper coach.[2] In 2013, he began the Physician Assistant Program at Eastern Virginia Medical School. This will allow him to fight back against jaundice, rather than simply championing for its eradication. Here he acquired a new nickname, Sad Red Panda (sometimes The Red Onion).