the Pebble Spring 2017

always gotten the most out of his players,”
said long-time Christian Brothers Academy
Athletic Director John “Buddy” Wleklinski,
who has known Ridall for 30 years. “As
athletic director he has earned the respect of
his colleagues. He has demonstrated tremendous
passion for his chosen profession, so it is
easy to see why he has had such a successful
career. I would like to think that MPH really
appreciates all that he has done over the years.
I would assume that he has left some very big
shoes to fill.”
At the beginning of the school year, Ridall
began to transition out of his role of athletic
director. While he will continue to teach,
coach and chair the Physical Education Department,
he will also work with the Advancement
Office in alumni relations.
Jim Ryan, the new athletic director, said
an employee like Ridall is rare.
“You can kind of draw a comparison ...
in a lot of ways to Jim Boeheim at Syracuse
University,” Ryan said. “You’re not going to
get somebody to stay at a corporation or an
organization for 30 or more years anymore.
Most people will go and work someplace for
five or 10 years; that’s kind of the nature of the
professional workplace now ... It’s very rare to
interact with somebody who’s been here for so
long. He’s created a lot of great memories for a
lot of students and student-athletes.
“You never want to be the the guy who
replaces the legend.”
And alumni describe him as just that: legendary.
They also used words like passionate,
competitive, loyal, dedicated and motivating.
Former soccer player and 1980 MPH
graduate Mark Egan said that Ridall
instilled in him confidence,
direction
and purpose
that
allowed
him to
grow into
the person
he is today.
“Plain
and simple,
Don believed
in me,” Egan said
in an email. “He
was/is a true life
coach in every sense of the word. At the time,
he may not have known it, and I surely didn’t,
but his winning attitude, work ethic, positive
outlook and ... [stay-the-course] mentality ...
helped me become a believer. He made me
want to be a better person, player, teammate,
[student-athlete] and classmate.”
While Ridall’s office door is open to all,
there’s a special spot in his heart for his soccer
players, and he’s known for delivering inspiring
speeches to them, pushing them to the
next level on the field and off.
“He preaches and instills qualities like
leadership, dedication, discipline and accountability
into his team each year,” said former
player and 2016 graduate Joey Cerio. “As a
result I find myself projecting these attributes
[into] both my athletic and academic life
every single day, and I am confident that they
will remain with me forever.”
Ridall knows how to inspire a soccer
team: he’s been doing it since he served as a
captain to his high-school and college soccer
teams up to coaching present-day. Although
his methods are sometimes outside the norm,
it seems like he’s been around long enough to
know how to work the kinks out of his players.
This past fall, he inspired his team by
digging a hole symbolic of the losing streak
the team had. Ridall urged the team to fill the
hole and turn the season around. And they
did: with each win, they scooped a shovel full
of dirt into the hole, ultimately leading them
to qualify for sectionals.
Another instance of Ridall’s interesting
coaching methods was when a
past team was very talented,
yet had issues with certain
individuals’ egos. He had
players write
their names
on pieces of
paper and
then toss
them into a fire
where they “burned
their egos.” The team
went on to have a
successful season
after that.
Luke McKenney,
who played for Ridall
in the 1980s, recalls
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