COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — The Colorado Rapids today announced their full coaching staff, including two new additions, ahead of the 2024 Major League Soccer season. Ian Sarachan will join the club as assistant coach, and Matt Gordon will step into a first team video analyst role, while Chris Little, Neil Emblen, Chris Sharpe and Jase Kim round out Chris Armas’ staff.
Sarachan recently completed his fifth season as an assistant coach at Creighton University, contributing to a 36-26-10 record, which featured a College Cup appearance in 2022. During his tenure, the Bluejays earned 20 All-BIG EAST selections, seven of which were in 2022. Sarachan previously served as an assistant at Santa Clara University and the University of Wisconsin, guiding the latter to the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Sarachan started his coaching career in July 2012 as an assistant coach for the LA Galaxy’s U-14 and U.S. Soccer Development Academy U-16 teams. He transitioned to assistant coach of the Galaxy’s USSDA U-18 team in January 2013 where he worked with current LAFC Assistant Coach Ante Razov.
Matt Gordon has been promoted from Rapids 2 video analyst to the first team in the same role. He joined the Rapids in October 2021 as a video analyst intern before transitioning to a full-time role with Rapids 2 in 2022. Gordon has 16 years of experience as a director of coaching at youth clubs in New Mexico, New England and the Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club and served as the head coach of Albuquerque Sol FC in the USL League 2.
“I am thrilled to announce the complete coaching staff that will support our journey in the upcoming season,” Rapids Head Coach Chris Armas said. “Each member brings unique expertise and dedication to the team, and together, we are committed to achieving success on and off the field. I look forward to working closely with this talented group as we strive for excellence and make our mark in the league.”
Remaining on Armas’ staff from the club’s 2023 technical staff is Chris Little, who will take the role of First Assistant Coach along with Assistant Coach Neil Emblen, Goalkeeper Coach and Academy Goalkeeper Director Chris Sharpe, and First Team Analyst Jase Kim.
Little, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, joined the Rapids as an assistant coach on Feb. 26, 2021, and also served as the interim head coach for the final eight matches of the 2023 season. Little’s coaching background includes roles as head coach of the Tacoma Defiance in the USL Championship and Director of Coaching for the Seattle Sounders FC Academy. Before joining Seattle in 2017, he was head coach at Elon University and served as Director of Coaching for the North Carolina Youth Soccer Association, holding a USSF 'A' License.
Emblen, will continue as an assistant coach while also taking up additional responsibilities as the day to day coaching link to the recruitment department. Joining the club as an assistant coach in 2018, Emblen managed Waitakere United in New Zealand from 2009-2012, securing three-consecutive national league titles. In 2012, he managed the New Zealand national team at the London Olympics and served two games as interim head coach. A native of Bromley, England, Emblen started his playing career as a youth player for Tonbridge Angels from 1987-1990. The versatile central defender/midfielder made senior appearances for clubs including Wolverhampton Wanderers (over 230 appearances), Millwall, Crystal Palace, Norwich City, Walsall, New Zealand Knights, and Waitakere United.
Sharpe, an Australian native, joined the Rapids in 2008 as a player and transitioned to an assistant coach role in 2014 after his playing career and as an assistant goalkeeping coach in 2013. Since 2008, he has also held the position of Rapids Academy Director of Goalkeeping, overseeing youth goalkeepers. In addition to coaching with the Rapids, Sharpe is the goalkeeper coach for Colorado’s U.S. Soccer Training Center and directs the Core Goalkeeper Academy. His playing career includes stints with Danish clubs Koge BK and Viborg FF, English club Chesterfield FC, and Australian clubs Parramatta Power and Northern Spirit. Sharpe's youth career featured time with renowned English clubs Southampton FC and Blackburn Rovers. He has represented Australia in camps with the Under-23 national team for the 2004 Summer Olympics and played in qualifying matches for the Australian U-20’s in the 2001 FIFA Youth World Cup.
Jase Kim joined the Rapids in January 2018 as a first-team video analyst. He arrived in Colorado after serving on the technical staff of the New Zealand National Team. Joining the All Whites in 2014 as the performance analyst, Kim later became the Head of Men’s Performance Analyst in 2015. His experience also includes working during the 2015 U-20 World Cup for New Zealand.
Additionally, former Assistant Coach Wolde Harris and the club have mutually agreed to part ways. Harris joined the club as an assistant coach on Feb. 26, 2021, after spending six years as an assistant with Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in the USL Championship, including a brief spell as interim head coach in 2019. As a player, Harris started a 14-year professional career in 1996 with the Colorado Foxes of the APSL. He later spent four years with the Rapids, also playing for the New England Revolution and Sporting Kansas City in MLS. Harris also made 28 appearances for the Jamaica National Team, scoring seven goals for the ‘Reggae Boyz.’
