COMETS ADD FRONT OFFICE STAFF

The front office of the Kansas City Comets has grown with the addition of three new staffers. Gina Schiraldi, the daughter of Comets great Gino Schiraldi, will serve as the Game Day Events Coordinator. Pat Clifton is the new director of communications. Ken Stanley is the new creative director.

Schiraldi, her father’s number retired by the Comets, has been a lifelong mainstay in the Kansas City soccer community. She played high school soccer for Shawnee Mission West and was a four-year starter at Baker University before returning to both of her alma maters as a coach. This will be her second stint with the franchise, having served as an account executive from 2010-2013.

Clifton comes to the Comets from the world of rugby, where he was one of the leading journalists in the American game for a decade. He also served as the assistant sports information director for what was the largest athletic department in the NAIA, Lindenwood University - Belleville. Clifton grew up around the sport of soccer and has fond memories of attending Comets and Attack games as a child.

Stanley is a designer with a background in both soccer and art. He has worked on a variety of soccer-related media projects with major leagues, clubs and tournaments across North America. In 2018, Ken and his wife opened Driftwood Ceramics, a ceramics studio located in North Kansas City.

Schiraldi will run point on game days in a variety of areas, including promotions, fan activation and statistics. Clifton will manage the team’s public and media relations, as well as assist with social media and the website. Stanley will design the team’s digital graphics and establish a new aesthetic.