Charles Ryan Named Women's Coach of the Year

3/14/2013 4:45:00 PM
2013 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NCAA Division II Indoor Coaches of the Year

New Orleans, LA – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) already named Vashti Thomas as their Track Athlete of the Year, but on Thursday, they lauded the man that made it all happen, as Charles Ryan was named the USTFCCCA Women's Track & Field Coach of the Year. Ryan was nominated and selected by his peers in his third season as the head coach of the Urban Knights after he guided the Academy of Art to its first-ever NCAA DII Indoor Championship.



"Being named Coach of the Year is an honor that I honestly never imagined I would receive and will never forget," Coach Ryan said. "It's very humbling when your peers stand up to recognize our accomplishments. I say 'our' because the award may have my name on it, but there are so many people who have a hand in this and deserve to be recognized. A head coach is only as good as his staff and I believe mine are the best out there. Torrey Olson, Lauren Smith, and Lamont Johnson do amazing work for me here. They are the perfect complements to my 'outside-the-box-system' and none of the things we have accomplished this year would have happened without them."


The Urban Knights scored 59.00 points in the NCAA Championships last week in Birmingham, AL to lead the field, exceeding the next highest point total by more than ten points. With Ryan at the helm, they blew past the winners of the past four championships, sending Grand Valley State (2012, 2011) and Lincoln (2010, 2009) packing. Academy of Art took home a nation-best 13 All-America awards on the women's side, including two outright championships from Vashti Thomas in the long jump and the 200m.

"No head coach wins Coach of the Year honors without phenomenal athletes and please believe I have more then my fair share here at ART U," Coach Ryan said. "These kids, and I call them that affectionately, they work so hard and they have invested so much into this process. I'm in awe of what they accomplished so far this year. Last but not least thank you to my leaders, our admin team, who do all the background work and provide me with more support than I have ever seen at University level. Our President Elisa Stephens, Director of Athletics Colin Preston, and Senior Woman's Administrator Meghan Bushnell do more for me and my team then I could ask for and it's a privilege to work in an environment like that."

“I am excited and proud of Coach Ryan and his accomplishments during this past indoor season,” Director of Athletics Colin Preston said. “Him being named Coach of the Year is icing on the cake to a great season for the Urban Knights. I'm looking forward to many more years of success for our track and field program led by Coach Ryan.”


The indoor season ended for the Knights with 23 marks by members of the women's squad that surpassed the provisional mark to qualify for NCAA Championships. They would send seven athletes to the final meet of the indoor year. After taking over in 2010, Ryan has developed the team into one of the top in the country, and in their first time being eligible to even participate in the NCAA postseason he came back a National Champion.

"I think that it's amazing. It is well deserved. It's an honor to be nominated, and to actually get the award is on a whole different level," said assistant coach Lauren Smith. "There are quite a few coaches who have great teams and have yet to receive this award. If I had to pick one word, it would be passionate. His sacrifice, his dedication to this program has turned it around into one that is developing champions. He had an awesome year and he definitely deserved it."

"A head coach is often asked to be a jack-of-all-trades, so some of the most impressive people I know -- and the ones who inspire me to keep working harder -- are the coaches who are operating excellently on the many planes they are asked to work on," Coach Olson said. "I regularly take a step back from the daily grind and am in awe of what Chuck is accomplishing through his own daily grind. He is definitely one of those coaches who motivates by example for me, and it's great to work with him. He really deserves this."


Prior to his arrival to the Urban Knights, Ryan spent three seasons as the Assistant Sprints/Hurdles Coach for Louisiana Tech. While coaching at LA Tech, Ryan developed 30 WAC Conference Champions, 28 NCAA Regional Qualifiers, and 12 NCAA National Qualifiers. Ryan's athletes at Louisiana Tech lead the charge that would see the Lady Techsters sweep every conference title they competed for in his three years, a perfect six-for-six sweep (three indoor, three outdoor).

"Coach Ryan is the bee's knees!" Thomas said. "He always has our back and even though practice is hard and he may yell at us when we aren't paying attention, I know he has our very best interest at heart. I've seen him stress over us and fight for us. I know he can see what we are truly capable of us and I can tell he tries to show us what he sees in us. He definitely deserves this award not only for coaching us, but for bringing the whole men's and women's teams into a new light."

Before that, the Bay Area native from Richmond, CA had major success at the club and high school levels. His athletes broke three US National records, won six individual national championships and 15 state champions. Ryan co-founded Track Knoxville in 2005, a club team out of Knoxville, TN, that sent 100 percent of its graduates to Division I NCAA programs.

During his four year college tenure, Ryan ran hurdles and relays for both UCLA and South Carolina. While at South Carolina, he earned a BA in Liberal Arts, graduating in 2004 with a major in Sociology, and was a part of the quartet that set an American record in the Shuttle Hurdle Relay in 2003. Ryan also earned and was a US Junior All-American while at UCLA and made the US Championships Semi-Finals in 2002. His roots in the Bay Area run deep as he graduated from McClymonds High School (West Oakland) in 1999.

"I couldn't imagine a better group of people to lead then the one I have here at ART U," Coach Ryan said. "Whatever accolades I may receive, people need to know that it's all because of those I have around me; our athletes, my staff, and of course my administration. This award is about them, because without them, I could never be in position to receive such a prestigious award."

Courtesy Academy of Art