How appropriate that Mrs. Joey Rickards met her husband, Bob Rickards, on the soccer field.

“I first crossed paths with my husband on the soccer field where he was the coach, and I was a newcomer to his team,” explained Mrs. Rickards, administrative assistant to President Tom Kiely.   

“As fate would have it, during my debut game, I sustained a minor injury.  My future husband rushed onto the field to assist, diagnosing it as a cramp. Despite my protests, he attempted to touch my leg, prompting me to instinctively backhand him, sending him tumbling backwards.”

The soccer-field incident happened 31 years ago in Charleston, South Carolina. And the story  gets better! 

Rickards continued her story:  “As he helped me off the field, he jokingly asked, ‘Does this mean we’re getting married?’  At the time, I thought to myself, ‘Fat chance, buddy, but watch, I’ll probably end up marrying this yahoo!’”

Three months after the soccer field incident the two started dating while both were playing on the same coed team. 

Eight months later they came to Green Bay to celebrate Christmas with Mrs. Rickards’ family. 

“We were at my grandmother’s house, and Bob popped the question after dinner,” said Mrs. Rickards.  

After being engaged for almost two years, they married in Charleston and honeymooned in Canada.  

In 1997 they moved to Green Bay. Both coached soccer at local schools, including Preble and Ashwaubenon.  Mr. Rickards actually coached at NDA for 15 years before coaching at SNC.

In the understatement of the year, Mrs. Rickards said, “Soccer was a huge part of our lives.”