Staff Directory
- Title:
- Assistant Swimming Coach
Ryan Woodruff had a strong first season as the head coach of the North Carolina Aquatic Club. NCAC earned Silver Medal Recognition from USA Swimming for the third year in a row and took eleven swimmers to U.S. Olympic Trials in June. Carly Smith was the only NCAC swimmer at Trials who was not a collegiate athlete. Smith also competed for the U.S. Junior National Team in Australia. Luke Hoffer, 16, shattered the 15-16 boys North Carolina state record in the 200 breaststroke by more than two seconds. Woodruff coached seven graduating high school seniors who will swim in college. Five of those will swim in Division I. Jesse Mendes is a freshman at the Carolina this year.
Woodruff came to Chapel Hill in August 2007 to serve as the head coach of the North Carolina Aquatic Club and as an assistant coach for the Tar Heel varsity teams.
Woodruff arrived with great credentials, serving the University of Florida swimming program in various capacities the previous seven years and playing a key part in the return of the Gator program to national prominence. Woodruff served as the head coach for the Gator Swim Club in Gainesville, Fla., from 2005-07, developing over a dozen junior national qualifiers and two Olympic Trial qualifiers. Woodruff earned his Bachelor of Science degree in exercise and sports sciences and exercise physiology from the University of Florida in August 2003. He earned a Master of Science degree in Human Performance from UF in May 2007.
In three years as head coach of the Gator Swim Club, Woodruff directed all aspects of the club team which had over 130 swimmers while managing a staff of eight. In three years, he saw seven of his swimmers earn scholarships to NCAA Division I schools or colleges. Woodruff coached swimmers who achieved a total of 52 cuts for U.S. nationals, U.S. junior nationals and NCSA junior nationals in his three years at the helm. At the 2006 nationals, the Gator Swim Club women's team placed 12th and the men's and women's squad combined to rank eighth nationally in the number of scholastic All-Americas.
Woodruff was also a volunteer assistant swimming coach at the University of Florida from 2003-07. During that time the Florida program produced over a dozen Olympians as well as several Olympic medalists. The Gators recorded four Top 5 NCAA finishes and had multiple individual and relay NCAA champions. In 2003 Woodruff gained significant experience as a technical support intern for the USA Swimming National Team as it prepared for the World Championships. While attending UF, he was the head team manager for the Gator swimming teams from 1999-2003 where he played a key role in logistic operations and technical support for the coaching staff while also overseeing the Gators' equipment operations. He was also the head counselor for one year and coach for the Florida Gator summer swimming camps from 2000-06. While an undergraduate at Florida he served as an age group swimming coach for the Gator Swim Club, working primarily with the 10-13 age group. He coached swimmers to three Junior Olympic championships in that time.
Woodruff has also been a Florida Swimming All-Star coach, USA Swimming National Team support volunteer, USA Swimming coach member and American Swim Coaches Association member. In his spare time, Woodruff is an accomplished runner. He has finished six marathons including the famed Boston Marathon in 2005. He was the USMS 5k open water national champion in 2001. He is married to Abby Woodruff.
