Richard has had a wide range of experiences both as a player and as a coach. His playing achievements include a National Junior College team title representing Abraham Baldwin in the U.S. He became an ‘All American’ in singles and doubles in 1999 and 2000. He then moved to Texas Tech University where he was named in the All Conference team for singles and doubles, being ranked in the top 50 in the doubles national rankings. Richard gained ATP points in singles and doubles and represented England in the Senior Four Nations Championships. He continues to represent Yorkshire at senior county week and was a member of the team that became division one champions on three occasions.

In his first Head Coach role at Pershore Tennis Centre, Richard quickly developed a successful junior programme resulting in many players competing at county and national level. In September 2008 he moved on to become Head Coach at Nuffield Tennis Academy, Hull. He developed the programme, integrated sport science support and led a team of coaches to achieve considerable success. The centre was awarded High Performance Status by the LTA which recognised the significant investment and improvements made by Richard and the coaching team.

Richard then furthered his coaching career by moving to Bolton Arena and taking over as Head Coach in 2012. He had a number of notable achievements during his seven years at Bolton which concluded with three of the junior teams winning the national finals in July 2019. Richard has worked with full-time players who have competed on the ATP and WTA professional tours and he has also coached Naiktha Baines at Wimbledon in the qualifying event of the singles and the main draw doubles. In addition, he has held Yorkshire LTA county captain roles, winning national titles with the 10&U Girls and the 18&U boys teams.

Richard has guided players to winning numerous singles and doubles titles in domestic Grade one and two events, ITF and Tennis Europe events, as well as coaching players who have competed and progressed in the main draw at prestigious international events such as Tarbes, Auray and the Orange Bowl in Florida.

Richard has coached numerous players who have represented Great Britain in summer and winter cup competitions at 12&U, 14&U and 18&U. In his head coach positions he has mentored and supported many coaches through the level 3, 4 and 5 qualifications and helped to formulate personal development plans. Richard is a qualified mentor gaining the Foundation qualification in coaching and mentoring in 2020.