The younger and more talented a player is, the better, right? So why wouldn’t the same thought process apply to the head coach as well?

These days, the “young coach” is hip in the sports world, i.e., Josh McDaniels, the new head coach of the Denver Broncos of the NFL, who at 32 years old led the franchise to a 6-0 start this season, the youngest to do so in NFL history.

Certainly, coaching soccer at the high school level doesn’t have the same pressures and is not the same, but the Sedona Red Rock High School boys soccer team has a new man at the helm this season and he’s about as young as it gets for a head coach.

Ryan Moore, a 22-year-old Flagstaff resident, was announced the new head coach of the Scorpion boys soccer program just three weeks ago by Sedona Athletic Director John Parks.

“I’m happy to be here and excited to see how things go here in my first season,” Moore said with a smile.

This certainly isn’t the first go-round for Moore who just finished the fall soccer season, leading Northland Preparatory to its best season ever, qualifying for the 1A-3A state playoffs.

Northland Preparatory beat Show Low High School in the first round of the state tournament in overtime, 3-2, the first victory in school history at the state tournament.

Raised in San Antonio, Texas, Moore attended three different high schools in four years starting in northern Virginia near the Washington, D.C. area.

Moore was some player at a younger age, and was a part of the first youth academy program for Major League Soccer and D.C., United.

He also played for a U-14 team in the Wylie Youth Soccer Organization, a highly respected and elite league in Texas, before moving to Virginia.

“I played for some good teams during my youth,” Moore said.

Moore and his family moved back to Texas for his sophomore year and was a part of a 5A state championship for Church Hills High School, one of 96 schools that made the field.

During his junior season, Moore unfortunately got hurt playing soccer, tearing all the ligaments in his ankle, almost ending his playing career.

The Moore family decided to move one more time, finding a nice home in Phoenix where Moore would attend Ironwood High School in Glendale.

Moore again was a part of a winning tradition, helping his Eagles claim a 4A Desert West championship and qualifying for the state playoffs before walking with his diploma in May 2005.

“By that time I was ready to get out of high school and move on with my life,” Moore said.

Attending Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Moore graduated earlier this year in May with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

Earning a degree was of course only one project for Moore who is now the director of Boys Coaches for a few club teams in the Flagstaff area.

Moore coaches three club teams himself at the high school level and, of course, is now the new head coach for Sedona.

If that wasn’t enough, Moore is also a part of the Olympic Development Program in soccer at the U-12 level.

Moore helps put together the USA national team of 25 players at the U-12 level, helping first pick the best 25 players here in Arizona before identifying those who could make the

team nationwide.

When asked what he does for fun in his spare time, Moore was quick to answer.

“I keep myself busy. What I do for fun is exactly this, coaching and being a part of soccer. I coach games, and watch games … it’s what I do,” Moore said.

Moore is thinking about playing again one day, but for now he’s enjoying life as a coach, scout and during the tax season, using his degree to help people do their taxes.

“Soccer is my full-time job. I do the tax thing during tax season but I focus all my energy on soccer. It is what I love,” Moore said.

Brian Bergner Jr. can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 131, or e-mail bbergner@larsonnewspapers.com