LEBANON —The Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl Board of Governors are pleased to introduce Coach Marty Richards as their 2019 Vermont Head Coach.
Coach Richards will lead his team of 36 of Vermont’s best senior players into the 66thAnnual Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl Game which will be played on Spartan Field at Castleton University in Castleton, Vt. on Aug. 3, 2019.
Coach Richards comes from Mount Mansfield Union High School in Jericho, Vt. He began his coaching career as an assistant in Milton, Vermont’s inaugural football program in 1991 and saw them through a 1997 Championship. He then had a short stint with BFA-Saint Albans and Chittenden East Wolverines Youth Football Team in 2001.
Coach Richards started his career at MMU in 2002 where he and a group of parents were instrumental in obtaining school board approval to bring football to their school. MMUs program began as a JV Club Team and in 2004 had their first varsity campaign making it to the finals in 2006, 07 and 08.
All of this was done without being allowed to practice on campus or host any home games. As Coach Richards attests: “We were true road warriors.” Coach Richards and his 2018 Cougars gave MMU their first Division I Championship. He states that “Coaching at MMU has allowed him the opportunity to mentor young men and develop lasting relations and wonderful memories.”
Coach Richards is married and he and his wife Julie will celebrate their 29thAnniversary in the fall. Together they have three children, Carolyn, Gabrielle and Robert and he states that without their love and support, he would not be able to pursue his passion for coaching football.
Coach Richards stated, “It is with great pleasure and honor that I coach the 2019 Vermont Shrine Team.” He goes on to say that, “It is truly a privilege to coach the best graduating seniors that Vermont has to offer.”
With eight months before game day, the purpose of the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl is fundraising for the world’s greatest philanthropy, that of supporting children in need at its Shrine hospitals. The game contributes to three hospitals in our region; Shriners Hospitals for Children in Springfield, Mass., and Montreal Quebec in Canada treating orthopaedic conditions and its world-renowned burns hospital in Boston. All services are provided regardless of the families’ ability to pay.
The orthopaedic hospitals include orthotics and prosthetics, neurodevelopmental pediatrics, rheumatology, rehabilitation and urology services; and specialized care for children with fractures, cleft lip and palate, and chest wall deformities. The Springfield hospital has recently added in-patient children’s rehabilitation and has a sports medicine department.
The Shrine Game has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past 65 years for the support of Shriners Hospitals for Children and is sponsored by the Cairo Shriners of Rutland, Vt., and the Mt. Sinai Shriners of Montpelier, Vt.
The Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl Board of Governors is extremely pleased to have Coach Richards onboard to lead the Vermont team. Please visit our website atwww.shrinemaplesugarbowl.com.
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