Ryan began his coaching career in Toronto at the Variety Village Flames Swim Team. He progressed from volunteer to grassroots coach to Head Coach and established a 1:1 para program where he worked with athletes individually until they were ready to join the competitive team. During this time he also coached the Ontario Para Swim Academy and completed his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Kinesiology.

Ryan has coached three athletes who made it on the podium at the World Para Swimming Championships.

In July of 2020, he began working with the Saskatoon Lasers Swim Club as the assistant coach, where he continued to further develop the Lasers’ para program as well as putting his passion and creativity toward helping the swimmers in the Olympic stream to set goals, improve their technique and enjoy the process of what they are doing. In the 2021-2022 swim season, he became the coach of record for Shelby Newkirk and Nikita Ens. Both swimmers have broken multiple Canadian records and put in all-time best swims and have won medals on the national stage.

This summer, he coached on Team Canada’s 2023 World Para Swimming Championship team in Manchester. Ryan has now taken on the Head Coach position with the Saskatoon Lasers Swim Club.

One of Ryan's passions as a coach is problem-solving: he loves analyzing a stroke and coming up with creative ways to improve it.  Ryan's adaptability and open-mindedness are two of his greatest strengths as a coach.  

Emma has been swimming since she was a baby. She was a swimmer with a swim club for ten years, and competed for seven, with four of those years as a member of the Saskatoon Lasers. She swam until her third year of high school where she began solely channeling her love of the sport through coaching. Emma began coaching with the Lasers as a volunteer for the Lasers Para program.  She is passionate about being supportive to her swimmers and allowing them to be involved in other sports and extracurricular activities, so they can pursue all passions. Emma has completed her Community Coaching course as well as her Swimming 101 course.

Emma completed high school in June of 2021 and is planning to attend the University of Saskatchewan in the Fall in Education.

Jael swam competitively in North Battleford for 5 years. She also coached in North Battleford for four of those years. Jael worked as a Lifeguard and Swim Instructor in both North Battleford and Halifax before moving to Saskatoon in 2022 for University. After moving to Saskatoon, Jael joined the Lasers Swim Team as a coach and couldn’t be more excited to help swimmers find the same joy and passion she has in swimming.

Jael enjoys coaching the fundamentals of swimming and helping swimmers understand how basic skills can be crucial to their swimming careers. Jael also loves to make swimming fun and finding ways to incorporate fun into practices and training.  

Rhyse has been involved in the Aquatic Communtity for as long as she can remember.  Rhyse was a competitive summer swimmer for 13 years and swam for the Hanna Seals Swim Team in Alberta.  She also coached for the same team for two years before moving to Saskatoon in 2016.  She then was involved with the Saskatoon Sharks swim team as a swimmer for two years and coached for three years.  Rhyse is also a lifeguard with the City of Saskatoon for the past six years.

Rhyse's favorite thing about swimming would have to be the enviroment and community that surrounds swimming and that everyone is there to build each other up and support each other.  The reason she loves coaching is the opportunity to support swimmers lives and introduce them to something she fell in love with as a little girl.

Jill joined the Lasers when she was 9 years old and swam competitively for all 9 years. She started volunteering with the Lasers when she was 13 and has loved it ever since.  She has worked with all levels of our Pool School program as well as the Lasers Para program.

From her experience coaching and from her own experiences from swimming, Jill empathies having fun in the water while working on technique to be able to develop into faster swimming.  Her favourite thing about swimming was being able to learn to challenge yourself knowing that you are capable of so much in the water and to always believe that you can do it!!

Jill has completed her Swimming 101 course and has lifeguarded with the City of Saskatoon for a few months over the Summer.  This allowed her to have experienced many different approaches to teaching and she is so excited to be able to coach with the Lasers Competitive Program.

Logan grew up in rural Saskatchewan and moved to Saskatoon in 2015.  He graduated from the UofS in 2023 with a Bachelor's in Kinesiology focusing on Exercise and Sports studies.

Logan has been Lifeguarding and instructing swimming lessons since 2017. He has also been teaching Lifesavings Societies Bronze levels and has certified over 150 Assistant Lifeguards across Saskatchewan. 

Logan joined the Lasers Coaching Team with our Pool School program in 2023 and is now Coaching our amazing JAG1 swimmers as well, since January 2024.

Shelby started swimming in 2011 and has since become a multiple time World Champoin, World Record Holder and Paralympian.  Shelby first started coaching in 2015 with an all Para Swim Team in Manitoba as the assistant coach and continued coaching when she moved to Saskatoon in 2016 with both of the Lasers Para and Pool School programs.

Shelby, as a para swimmer herself, has always been very passionate about helping people find their love of swimming and work towards reaching their indivual goals.

Shelby has a Bachelor's in Education with a major in Physical Education as well as a Diploma in Disability and Community Support.  Shelby completed her Swimming 101 while in Manitoba and loves coaching swimmers of all ages and abilities.  She continues to train full time as a part of the Lasers Swim Club and our Para National Team. 

While not at the pool, Shelby runs two small businesses, is a public speaker, speaking at events throughout the province and across the country to share her story and talk about the importance of inclusion and accessibility in and out of the sporting context.