Staying in Charleston

Nico Rittmeyer signs new, multi-year contract with Charleston Battery

Charleston Battery youth academy product Nico Rittmeyer has signed a new, multi-year contract ahead of the 2019 season.

Despite growing up in Savannah, Georgia, Rittmeyer has played nearly his entire soccer career in Charleston. At the age of 11, Rittmeyer and his dad started making the two-hour trek to and from Charleston to play for the Summerville Soccer Club under former Battery player Clark Brisson. With the support of the Battery, Brisson helped create the Charleston Battery Academy, merging Rittmeyer’s team with other clubs in the area shortly after his first trip to Charleston.

During Rittmeyer’s time with the academy as a teenager, Battery Head Coach Mike Anhaeuser invited him to train with the first team. Rittmeyer played his first matches for the professional club as a 17-year old against the Chicago Fire and Toronto FC at the 2011 Carolina Challenge Cup.

“It was crazy being thrown into that environment as a teenager,” said Rittmeyer. “But, I gained a lot of valuable experience as a youth player in the Battery system. Testing myself against professional players and other high level youth players from a young age prepared me for the next level.”

For Rittmeyer, the next level was NCAA Division 1 with the University of North Carolina, however, an injury cut his freshman season short. After recovering from the injury and finishing his first year at Chapel Hill, he sought out a fresh start and elected to transfer from UNC. Rittmeyer turned to the familiar and put the school in his adopted hometown at the top of his list. He transferred to College of Charleston to play under former Cougar assistant coach Troy Lesesne, who is now the head coach of the new USL Championship franchise New Mexico United. Rittmeyer flourished as a Cougar in his new, but familiar, setting. During his three seasons at CofC, Rittmeyer scored 13 goals and registered four assists in 50 starts. He served as team captain for all three seasons and earned several all-conference awards.

His performance earned him an invite to Anhaeuser’s trials a few months after the end of his senior season. Rittmeyer earned a contract shortly thereafter and spent the majority of his rookie season as a role player.

“My first season was a huge learning experience for me,” Rittmeyer said. “I just showed up every day with a hunger to train and get better. I put my head down, worked as hard as I could, and leaned on some of the veterans like Taylor [Mueller] and [Odisnel] Cooper to help me navigate through that first year.”

The hard work as a rookie paid off in year two. In his second season as a professional, Rittmeyer scored four goals and tallied four assists in 32 appearances. He was named USL Player of the Week in July 2018 and finished the season with the 26 chances created, the third highest total on the team. Rittmeyer’s efforts in the Battery’s run to an eleventh consecutive playoff appearance earned him a new, multi-year contract with his hometown Club this season.

“I’m excited,” Rittmeyer said. “This is an amazing city and a great Club with a long history of success. I love living here and I love playing here, so it was a no-brainer. It’s cool to see things come full circle; to get to play here as a pro after all the hard work I put in as a youth player is rewarding.”

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