Under The Water: A Deep Dive on Boys Swim Varsity Coach Ryan Larsen

Coach Ryan Larsen has been coaching Redwood’s team for only two years now. His path to Redwood, however, goes beneath the surface.

By: Fabian Anguiano

Born and raised in San Jose, California, Coach Larsen started swimming at the young age of five for his community recreational swim team.

Though Coach Larsen was great in his high school career, he had one problem. “I didn’t necessarily like my high school coach, so I definitely did not try as much. I was a young, dumb teenager. So of course, I knew better than my coach, so I didn’t try as hard as I could have,” said Coach Larsen.

Looking back, Coach Larsen realizes he wasted those four years in high school just because he didn’t like his coach, which to Larsen, was a dumb reason.

Coach Larsen’s favorite part about being a swimmer was the people he was with in the pool because they would spend most of their time around each other.

“We had morning practice from 5:30 in the morning till 7:30 in the morning. Then again, from 3:30 to 5:30 in the afternoon, and also a couple of hours on Saturday mornings. So I was with these guys, many, many hours, 20 plus hours a week,” says Coach Larsen.

Coach Larsen would swim for a small college in St. Louis and would become an All-American.

One of the biggest differences from high school to college swimming is that when you are in high school, a coach can say they don’t need you while you’re the best kid on the team, and an unfortunate attitude can come with it. While in college, you can look over your shoulder, and there is someone waiting to take your spot.

The person who inspired Larsen to start coaching is a coach he had around the age of 12 to 14, “I had an absolutely amazing coach who I loved. He loved us. He cared about us. He was there to truly make us better and help us have a love for the sport.”

After his two years of college, it seemed that Coach Larsen had lost his drive for swimming. Though he really loved practicing, it seemed like he was completely burnt out of swimming so much that he wouldn’t touch a swimming pool for ten years.

The year was now 2007, and the his job had taken him to Boise, Idaho. The local YMCA was looking for a swim coach, the current coach said he needed help, and Larsen joined the coaching staff. Just like that, his passion for coaching began.

Being a first-year coach for Larsen was a challenge, as you are watching other coaches trying to get an idea of what you are doing. Another thing is seeing a swimmer and wondering how you can help them out. It’s just the little tips that were hard in the beginning, but the best way to learn is by doing.

Coach Larsen’s path to Visalia was an interesting one. The year was 2012, and he and his wife were living in Los Angeles at the time. They had heard of Visalia, but they had never been there.

Larsen and his family would travel their way to Visalia though they did not know anybody at the time. They looked for the best school within the boundaries and ended up at Redwood.

Two of his children have graduated, and one is a senior here at Redwood.

Coach Larsen’s coaching philosophy has changed over the years.

“There was an understanding that the more you swam, the better you would be. That’s why I was in the water so much. There was that just the more you do it, the better you’re going to be philosophy. Even today, I could put a workout for the kids where they’re just going to swim back and forth and back and forth and back and forth, and they’re going to do a ton of distance.”

“I’ve learned to adapt to okay, so not all yards are made the same, you know, I can make them swim a long distance, and all I’m going to do is essentially erect their shoulders, and break them down to where it’s not benefiting them at all,” says Larsen

With this, Larsen has learned to change distances, changing the speed, and changing the way they are swimming and focusing.

Coach Larsen’s past experiences have shaped him into the coach he is today. “I look back at those coaches that I worked with, that I loved, and what they were doing and how I  saw the results from their swimmers. I look at the coaches that I had when I was growing up, especially coach whom I really looked up to, what he was doing with us, and what he was doing.”

From the beginning of this season to now, Coach Larsen feels like the team, “We’re working hard. We’re really tired right now. So a lot of the boys are in this tired state that they’re in. Their swimming times are actually very, very close to their rested peak performance times of last year.”

Larsen has seen a lot of improvement in the boys this year. He is extremely proud and happy with where they are at right now.

Coach Larsen’s first goal for the team for the end of the season is to win EYL, and his second bringing as many kids into the Division One Valley Championship meet that they are a part of.

“In swimming, there are two divisions: Division One and Division Two. Division One is the better, higher, more difficult, faster meet. So then my goal is to get as many kids as we can into that Division One swimming. The time standards that it takes to get in there are, are really fast.”

Coach Larsen does not exactly have a goal for himself as a coach. When the kids are happy and are doing their best, that is what makes Larsen happy.

While some may see a pool as just a thing of floating water, Larsen sees more than that: “I can be having the worst day at work. I step on the pool deck, and everything changes. I love being there. I love being around [the team]. I guess it’s the winning way.”

Coach Larsen had more to say, “It’s a big honor to be the varsity Boys Coach, and with that, I mean the past two coaches were there 25 plus years each. So I’m only the third head coach in 50 years of the Redwood varsity boys swim team, which is a huge honor.”

Coach Larsen finds it an honor to fill the shoes of former coach Eric Fuller, though it is a lot of pressure. Larsen wishes to continue the winning tradition of Ranger Aquatics.

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