Kelly Rider was named the first ever head coach of the Curry women's ice hockey team in 2020, and the team played its first varsity season in the 2021-22 academic year. She also serves as Curry's Senior Woman Administrator, athletics/academic liaison, sits on the CARES committee, and is a game administrator. Additionally, she is currently serving on the NCAA DIII Women’s Ice Hockey Championship Committee through August of 2027. 

In just the program’s first four seasons, Coach Rider has guided the Curry College Women’s Ice Hockey program to rapid success both on and off the ice. Since the program’s inception, the Colonels have improved their win record every year, including earning back-to-back championship appearances in 2023-2024 and 2024-2025, and establishing themselves as a rising force in the CNE. Two women’s hockey players have been named the Curry Female Athlete of the Year, and several others have garnered recognition across campus, the conference, and beyond. Additionally, the inaugural class graduated with an average cumulative GPA of 3.7 and the program continues to maintain the highest GPA in the athletics department. 

In the 2024-2025 season, the Colonels earned the #2 seed and won their first home playoff game. Danielle Reid (who led the conference in goals) and Grayson Goolgasian (who led the conference in points), were named to the CNE All-Conference First Team and recognized as New England Hockey Writers’ Association All-Stars. Goolgasian was additionally named the 2025 Curry College Female Athlete of the Year, while Vivi Helquist received the Athletics Department Colonel Pride Award, and Anna Kahl received the Curry College Benjamin Hidalgo Community Service Award.  

At the conclusion of the 2023-2024 season, Soleil Archambeault, was named the CCC Goalie of the Year, 2024 Curry College Female Athlete of the Year, and 2024 CNE NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee. In the team's inaugural season, Rider helped lead the Colonels team, of all freshmen, to their first playoff victory over Suffolk. 

Rider joined Curry after spending five years as the head women's ice hockey coach at Northland College, an NCAA Division III institution in Ashland, Wisconsin. She also held titles of Senior Woman Administrator and Interim Associate Athletic Director. She led Northland to a victory over #2 nationally-ranked Adrian College in just the 29th contest in program history. Under her leadership, seven student-athletes were named American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) All-American Scholars, including five in 2018, which was tied for the most in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHA). Rider also helped to guide two All-Conference goaltenders. Additionally, she served on the weekly ranking committee for d3hockey.com from 2015 to 2019. 

Before her time at Northland, Rider spent much of her career in the Northeast. Her previous stops include two years at Neumann University in Ashton, Pennsylvania, the first as an assistant and the second as the Head Coach. She guided the Knights to an ECAC West Semifinal appearance in 2013 and had a student-athlete named to the ECAC West All-Rookie Team in 2014. She also served as an assistant for one season at nearby UMass-Boston. Additionally, Rider also spent three seasons coaching high school and prep school hockey at Canton High School and the Dexter-Southfield School. 

Rider is active in USA Hockey as a coach, evaluator, and as an instructor in the coach education program. She currently holds a Level 5 USA Hockey coaching certification. 

In addition to her USA Hockey coaching certification, she is also a Certified Athletic Trainer (NATA) and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (NSCA). In 2015, she served as the strength and conditioning coach for the Albany Academy Baseball team, helping to lead them to a New York State Section II Championship. 

Rider earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Athletic Training/Sports Medicine as well as a minor in Biology from Quinnipiac University in 2007, where she was a student-athlete on the women's ice hockey team (2003-07), and completed her Master's in Education with a specialization in Coaching from Boston University in 2010. She also is a graduate of the WeCoach NCAA Women Coaches Academy, Class #54.