Meet Coach Rado
Founded and led by Rado Stefanov, Ridgeplay Academy combines football development with a broader commitment to helping young people become confident, capable, and responsible individuals..
Rado brings over a decade of coaching experience in San Francisco across competitive clubs, schools, and community programs. His work has included SF Vikings SC, SF Aftershocks, and Street Soccer USA, where he helped lead the Shared Schoolyard Project and other initiatives bringing soccer to hundreds of young players across the city.
SFVSC B14 Red Jaguars, Fall 2024
NorCal Gold Division Champions, Spring 2026In 2020, Rado joined SF Vikings SC, coaching competitive teams across multiple age groups. He also serves as Head Coach of the boys' and girls' soccer programs at Presidio Middle School, guiding teams through multiple playoff appearances, including a girls' city championship in 2025 and a boys' city runner-up finish in 2026.
His coaching experience also includes Archbishop Riordan High School, working with high school athletes in the competitive WCAL environment.
A US Soccer licensed coach, Rado continues to expand his knowledge through coaching education and professional development, including a coaching clinic at UC Berkeley and an extensive enrichment program at Chelsea FC in London.
During the Chelsea experience, he observed academy training and matches across multiple youth age groups and the women's program, explored approaches to player development, performance analysis, training periodization, physical preparation, and player care, and engaged in discussions with academy coaching leadership. The experience offered valuable insight into the structure and philosophy of an established European football academy.
Rado's playing background began in Razgrad, Bulgaria, where he played for Razgrad 2000 during the years preceding the rise of PFC Ludogorets Razgrad, which would later become a dominant force in Bulgarian football.
After moving to the United States, he continued playing competitive football, including in the Delaware Premier Soccer League, and later with the SF Vikings SC men's team and San Francisco Hibernian FC.
These experiences have shaped his understanding of the game from both sides of the touchline.
Through Ridgeplay Academy, Rado brings that experience into an environment where young players are encouraged to think, compete, take responsibility, support one another, and enjoy the process of becoming better.
