CoachUp MVP Awards: Ryan Patterson
Last month, we chatted with Chase Wickham, one of last summer’s CoachUp MVPs — so it only felt right to feature Ryan Patterson next. Coach Ryan has been with us since September 2013 and he teaches almost everything under the sun. Thanks again to you, Ryan! Your hard work and effort has undeniably shaped Sean and Ava’s athletic journeys forever! We allowed our athletes and parents to vote for their favorite coaches across the platform so we could highlight the winners.
Of those winners, Coach Ryan was voted our Most Innovative and the interview below proves it. The full MVP article can be found here,
CoachUp: Hi Ryan! How long have you been working with your athlete? When your athletes initially came to train with you, what were they looking to improve on?
Ryan Patterson: I’ve actually been working with them almost every weekend for more than a year. Sean and Ava started working with me when they were 7 years-old — they were looking to fine tune their soccer skills and improve overall stamina.
CoachUp: Can you describe your athlete’s abilities before training with you? After training with you?
RP: When we started working together, Sean and Ava both showed a lot of natural talent. It was immediately clear they were both athletic and energetic and had just scratched the surface of what they were capable of accomplishing through soccer and sports. After a year of training, I’m very impressed by how much they’ve both matured as athletes.
Sean takes his craft very seriously and always accepts constructive criticism. I see him use what I taught during sessions, which makes me so proud. Ava has always had impressive quickness and speed, but now she knows it. She uses it to outsmart her opponents on the field — her footwork is awesome and improves each week as well.
CU: What are the goals or benchmarks you’ve helped your athlete achieve?
RP: Ava now averages at least one goal per game on her 8U team, it’s tremendous fun to watch. Elsewhere, Sean has moved away from soccer for basketball and he’s already one of the top players at his school. As a coach for both sports, I’ve been able to help him transfer the speed and agility he’s learned in soccer to the court since then. Sean is such an impressive shooter, so it’s great to see his athletic skills transfer across several sports.
CU: Has your athlete’s training helped in any other realm of his or her life (i.e. school, friends, confidence, etc)?
RP: These are two are my youngest, yet most outspoken athletes. They have great personalities and it’s been incredible to see them mature over the past year. Even further, their energy and enthusiasm is what inspires me to be a coach. They have dramatically improved as athletes and I really look forward to coaching them each week.
CU: What was the proudest moment you’ve shared with your athlete?
RP: I went to watch both Sean and Ava play on their respective soccer teams and it was amazing to see them play. It was great to hear Ava communicate with her team members so effectively and to see her dribble the ball up the field was incredible. I heard her say phrases I taught her in practice and that was very rewarding.
Watching Sean understand his positioning and working with his team members was great as well — it truly is all wonderful. I think they both scored goals on the respective days I came to watch them. I’m so proud to coach both of these athletes weekly and lucky their parents picked me on CoachUp.
If Ryan’s experiences and training sessions have inspired you, don’t lose anymore time! We live for stories like these and it affirms all the hard work we’re doing as well. Thanks so much to Coach Ryan for taking the time to answer our questions and congrats to Ava and Sean for all your sweet skills on the field and court! Are you ready for the next step? Head to CoachUp and find your coach now!
