A four-year standout on the pitch, Richardson was named All-Ivy during his sophomore and junior seasons. He helped Dartmouth take home back-to-back Ivy League Championships in 2004 and 2005, and make a run to the NCAA Tournament in 2005.
After graduating in 2007, Richardson has stayed in contact with Cook and maintained an interest in Dartmouth athletics, Cook said.
"We had discussed the next phase of his career and that coaching was of interest to him," Cook said. "As a player he always led by example and had a natural ability to motivate others, so I think we're all lucky to have him back up here."
When the opening for the assistant coach position became official in late June, Cook said he reached out to a number of candidates through the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
"[Richardson] had just started pretty recently as a graduate assistant coach at St. John's [University], but he was really excited about the opportunity to return to coach at his alma mater," he said.
Richardson will replace former assistant coach Trevor Gorman, who accepted the assistant coach position at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, Richardson said.
Cook said Richardson will be a great role model for the athletes currently on the team, adding that his "incredible passion" for Dartmouth will be an asset during recruiting.
"His ability to speak to the opportunities here for students both on the field and in the classroom is really important," Cook said.
Although Richardson said he has "a lot of catching up to do," he added that his previous experience with the program as a player will ease his transition into the new job.
Cook said that Richardson's time in Hanover as an undergraduate puts him "ahead of the learning curve."
"He knows Dartmouth and he knows the athletic department," Cook said. "He'll definitely be able to assist players as they balance soccer and academic goals."
Adam Rice '12, who met Richardson during his freshman season, said he will act as a bridge between the players and the coaching staff.
"He's very down to earth but also competitive," Rice said. "His experience as a soccer player at Dartmouth will really help him relate to us."
Cook added that Richardson's "approachable" nature will help players easily identify with him.
"When you have a very young coach, there's always some concern, but [Richardson] is a very easy person to respect because of the way he goes about things," Cook said.
Richardson said he began thinking about using soccer as a way of giving back to the community after meeting Tommy Clark '92, co-founder of Grassroot Soccer, during his senior year.
Clark gave him the opportunity to travel to Zambia in the fall of 2007 through a nine-month Grassroot Soccer internship, according to Richardson.
While in Africa, Richardson coached high school students and coordinated two soccer leagues. He also worked to implement HIV/AIDS prevention programs through youth soccer programs, he said.
"I've learned a lot from seeing how people use soccer in a positive way," he said. "Once I got started down this road I realized it's where I wanted to be."
After his internship ended, Richardson said he wanted to remain involved with Grassroot Soccer. Returning to the Upper Valley, he spent the following year coordinating the internship program at the headquarters in Norwich, Vt., and fundraising for the organization.
Teaming up with Grassroot co-founder Ethan Zohn, Richardson spent 100 days during the fall of 2008 dribbling soccer balls up and down the East Coast between Boston and Washington, D.C., to raise money and spread awareness about the organization's mission.
Richardson traded the East Coast for his hometown of Denver, Colo. in 2009. As the program director for America Scores, he worked with underprivileged elementary school students in an after school program that combined soccer and creative writing.
The program gave students the opportunity to not only hone in on their writing skills, but also to work and play in a team environment, Richardson said.
Coaching children helped Richardson gain a new appreciation for the simple fundamentals of the game, he said.
Although the collegiate level will require a more complex approach, Richardson said his past experience has helped him develop better communication skills.
"[Coaching kids] teaches you how to see the game in a pretty basic way," he said. "It's all about getting key messages across in a clear way."
Looking ahead to the fall, Richardson said that a successful season will depend on how early the team begins to build momentum.
