Familiar and New Names Head Accomplished Programs

Father Ryan High School is delighted to announce today the three new head coaches who will lead the school’s storied Soccer and Golf programs.

Gerry Armbruster III '12, currently an assistant Soccer coach at Father Ryan, becomes the Head Girls Soccer Coach.

Christakis Agisilaou (pronounced eye-yee-cee-LAH-ew), an accomplished player and coach in the U.S. and internationally, joins the Irish as the Head Boys Soccer Coach.
Steve Graham '87, head pro at Champions Run Golf Course, will be the Head Boys and Girls Golf Coach.

In addition, longtime Golf Team Assistant Coach Kate Cole has been elevated to Associate Head Boys and Girls Golf Coach.

Coach Armbruster and Coach Agisilaou succeed Hall of Fame Coach Robin Dieterich '73 while Coach Graham succeeds Greg Thompson. Both Mr. Dieterich and Mr. Thompson are retiring from coaching but will remain members of the Father Ryan faculty. All positions are effective July 1, 2024, except Coach Agisilaou’s, which begins November 1, 2024.

The Soccer and Golf Teams have been among the most successful in the school’s and in the state’s history. Father Ryan’s Boys Soccer teams have claimed seven TSSAA State Championships and the Girls Team has won five State Titles. Golf has earned three team State Championships, two by the Boys Team and one for the Girls Team, with individual State Championships won by numerous Irish golfers.

Father Ryan’s Director of Athletics Ann Mullins '03 made the announcement, saying that the search process produced many outstanding candidates. “These sports have been hallmarks of excellence here and across the region, and we are pleased to announce the appointments of Gerry, Christakis, Steve, and Kate to head these successful programs at Father Ryan,” Coach Mullins said. “All of these coaches bring impressive credentials to these coaching positions, and I am confident they will continue our tradition of athletic success while developing outstanding student-athletes for Father Ryan.”

Coach Armbruster is a 2012 graduate of Father Ryan and has served on the Soccer coaching staff and as a substitute teacher since 2017. He has been the Head Coach of both the Girls and Boys JV teams and an Assistant Coach for the Irish Varsity teams. He served on the Scout and Technical staff of Nashville Soccer Club from 2018-2022, was the Leagues and Programs Director for the Tennessee State Soccer Association, and heads the Nashville Catholic Athletics organization, which provides athletic programs for area middle school athletes. A 2016 graduate of the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, Coach Armbruster holds the USSF National “D” Coaching License.
 
Coach Agisilaou has coached at all levels of the sport. including serving as Head Coach since 2018 for Madisonville North-Hopkins (KY) High School, compiling a 117-32-14 record in six years with three Regional Titles and an Elite 8 appearance. He was named the Kentucky High School Coach of the Year in 2022. In addition, he has been the Head Coach of the BG Elite FC 2003s and the Assistant Coach of the BG FC Golden Lions (Professional Team UPSL) since 2021.  An accomplished player since he began competing in grade school, he played at Kentucky Wesleyan College, was a member of the 2014 ASIL FC (Cypriot tier 3) League Champions, and later competed for Harnosands FC (Sweden tier 3), Pierikos FC (Greece tier 2), and AEZ Zakakiou (Cyprus Premier Division). Coach Agisilaou earned his bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science and Kinesiology from Kentucky Wesleyan College in 2014 and his master’s in Teacher Leadership degree from Murray State University in 2021.
 
An accomplished high school golfer, Coach Graham graduated from Father Ryan in 1987 and went on to graduate in 1991 from Middle Tennessee State University, where he was all-conference and Tennessee Amateur Champion in 1990. He played professionally on three U.S. tours before joining Champions Run Golf Course in the fall of 2002 as the General Manager and Director of Golf. Coach Graham is a Class A Member of the PGA of America and is a Certified Ambassador with Michael Jacobs 3D Golf.  He is the son of Father Ryan Hall of Fame golfer Marty Graham '54 and nephew of Father Ryan Hall of Famer Lou Graham '56, the 1975 U.S. Open Golf Champion.

Coach Cole serves as the Assistant Golf Coach. She has been teaching Social Sciences at Father Ryan since 2003. She moderated the Student Council until the formation of the House System in 2020 and is a member of the National Association of Student Councils. She received her Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from the University of Kentucky in 1996.

Coach Mullins thanked Mr. Dieterich and Mr. Thompson for their leadership and commitment to the students at Father Ryan. “In welcoming these new coaches, I am joined by thousands of alumni, students, and parents who have benefited from the example, teaching, leadership, and encouragement of Robin and Greg,” she said. “Robin’s Hall of Fame career is one of the most remarkable in high school history, with him playing a role as player or coach in all 12 of Father Ryan’s Soccer State Titles over a 52-year span, 47 of those years as coach of both the Girls and Boys Teams. And Greg, the Head of Immaculata House, has led a program that has produced a Girls Regional Team Title, multiple State Tournament qualifiers, and two State individual runners-up in just the last five years. And both have done this while continuing to teach in the classroom every day.  We are grateful for their many contributions to the Father Ryan community.”

The entire Father Ryan community joins in thanking Mr. Dieterich and Mr. Thompson and welcoming these accomplished coaches as they extend the legacy of Father Ryan athletics.

Go Irish!