Mission Statement

I was trying to get back into swimming after a serious illness and luckily met Sophie at a local masters session. Sophie helped me to regain my confidence and even convinced me to join in some open water events. Sophie will go to any length to help with open water swimming and create a great community of swimmers making it both fun and safe.

Cora Marshall

Sophie has been an excellent swim coach and leader of the open water swim team. She has pushed the team and individuals to continually improve. Through her passion for swimming and understanding of people, she has made us all feel like part of the swimming community. The excellent turnouts for masters training sessions reflect the esteem in which she's held.

Dan Lowe

I swim for Half Moon SC and swam some of Sophie’s swim training sessions. A great coach & great sets.

Stephen Millar

Sophie is uniquely talented as a coach. She brings such a wealth of swimming experience to her coaching but brings it only to share. It's so rare to encounter someone who truly meets swimmers of all levels at THEIR level. Wherever you are with swimming, Sophie will make you feel it's a good place to start and is 100% behind getting you to the next place you want to be.

Dan Dalton

Searching always to bring out the best in you. Organised, no matter what you forget to bring Sophie will always have a spare. Passionate, so, so passionate about swimming especially the open sea swims.High energy that definitely rubs off on everyone.Interested not just in your swimming but you as a whole person.Enthusiastic & for ever encouraging no matter what you're level at.

Sarah Lalor

Having only met Sophie Ryan at the start of this year, in this short time she transformed me into a stronger more competitive athlete at the age of 52. Sophie has an incredible ability to see the unique qualities in each member of her team. Her "drive" and guidance has made me to believe in myself, challenge my limits and pushed me to achieve more than I thought possible. Her presence at every meet whether at the pool or out at sea brings strength, support, determination and genuine understanding and knowledge of the sport at hand.Her experience and unmatched passion stand out even more to me as I have been swimming most of my life, yet never encountered a coach or swimmer quite like her.Thanks to Sophie I am swimming more and swimming with more purpose. I am truly grateful for everything lesson, every push, every chat and every moment she invested in me.

Lucille Sheldon

I started swimming as a sport a year and a half ago. At the time, I was confident but lacked technique and endurance — I couldn't even finish the distance in the slow lane during training. Since then, with Sophie's support and care, I improved enough to train in the middle lane and join open water competitions.
Sophie was very supportive in my open water training. When I missed the early season prep, she helped me get ready in her free time and even swam my first race alongside me. Thanks to her, I'm now seriously considering training for a triathlon.
It is very comfortable to train with Sophie. I trust her judgment completely; I know she won't tell me I'm ready for something just to cheer me up, but rather because I can actually do it.

Roman Kovtyukh

Working with Sophie has genuinely been one of the best experiencesI’ve had in the pool and in open water. She has this amazing abilityto break things down in a way that actually makes sense, and somehowshe always knows exactly when to push you and when you just need a bit of encouragement.

What I appreciate most about Sophie is how much she truly cares. Shepays attention—not just to technique, but to how you’re feeling, whatmotivates you, and what might be holding you back. Her feedback isalways honest but supportive, and she has a way of making even thetoughest sessions feel achievable.

She creates an environment where you feel comfortable, confident, andmotivated to get better. You can tell she loves what she does, andthat energy is contagious. Because of her, I’ve not only improved as aswimmer but also gained so much more confidence in myself, especiallyin open water.

If you’re looking for a swim coach who is knowledgeable, patient, andgenuinely invested in your progress, Sophie is the one. I can’trecommend her enough.

Happy days Sophie and Hope all goes wellWhatever you touch will turn into GoldGo for it!

Majella Geraghty

I have never had a coach as dedicated or caring as Sophie. Her passion, enthusiasm and encouragement helped me find joy in swimming after a very long time away from it. Sophie is a true wonder!

Niall Murray

Sophie is an incredible inspiring coach who has the perfect balance of knowing when to push you but also protect you. She is welcoming, funny and responsible.

Claire Curran