The Lynchburg YMCA has fired head coach Ryan Woodruff and paused its competitive swim team just days after the conclusion of the YMCA National Championships and terminated all of their coaches.
The club was one of two USA Swimming programs serving the Central Virginia hub of Lynchburg with a population of around 80,000, with the other being the Lynchburg Aquatic Club.
The news was confirmed by several parents with athletes on the team. One parent, Laurie Rice, posted publicly on Facebook:
“This impacts so many in our community. You have swimmers like Hudson in the middle of college recruiting and suddenly they have nowhere to train and nobody to train them. You also have the littles who adore Coach Carter and their other coaches who suddenly won’t see them again at practice. There are 100+ families currently impacted and many alumni who understand what swimming does for these kids.
Swimming develops lifelong athletic abilities, but it also leads to lifelong friendships, builds character, allows for personal growth, and so many things the YMCA says it stands for. We are of course in shock by the news and disappointed in how the situation has been handled. We’ve always been proud to be members of LY swimming, but sadly we can no longer say that. They even removed the website and I would guess they will erase the achievements of this past week from their Facebook page soon.
The YMCA has underestimated the impact this team has had on the community for several generations.”
The YMCA has already taken the team’s website offline and informed teams of the cut via email, saying that they have begun a “national search for the next swim team leader, with an emphasis on experience, leadership, and a commitment to long-term aquatics success.”
The email in full:
We are writing to inform you that our swim team leaders’ employment has ended, effective Saturday, April 4, 2026.
The YMCA of Central Virginia Board has immediately begun a national search for the next swim team leader, with an emphasis on experience, leadership, and a commitment to long-term aquatics success. We are committed to moving forward with clarity, stability, and a strong foundation for the future of the program.
Our focus remains clear: delivering a swim program that helps every participant grow in confidence, character, and skill while building a strong, supportive environment for our swimmers and families.
Due to the timing of this transition, we will not participate in, or host, upcoming summer meets. Team practices are being discussed with coaches, and more information will be available within the week.
In the meantime, we are providing swim lane access at no cost for your swimmer to continue training independently. April swim dues will be refunded and processed by April 30, 2026, and all additional swim dues will be paused until the program’s return in Fall 2026.
Please email [email protected] with any additional questions or concerns you may have.
For decades, the YMCA of Central Virginia has helped swimmers of all ages build skills, confidence, and lifelong connections in and around the water. That commitment remains unchanged, and we are focused on ensuring this next chapter strengthens the experience for every swimmer and family involved.
Sincerely,
YMCA of Central Virginia
Woodruff was hired as the program’s new director in 2015, coming from the Parkland Aquatic Club in Pennsylvania. He had previous stints as the head coach of the Gator Swim Club in Gainesville, Florida, as an assistant coach at North Carolina, and as the head coach of the North Carolina Aquatic Club.
In her Facebook post, Rice, whose son Hudson raced at the recent YMCA National Championships, credited Woodruff for the team’s success.
“(Hudson) works so hard 6 days a week to achieve each of these times and meet personally set goals. He’s been able to excel at a national meet because of his Coach Ryan Woodruff and other coaches over the years that have poured into him.
This is a team I have had kids on for 13 years and currently Carter coaches for. The YMCA of Central VA cancelled the season without a goodbye to coaches, the celebration of a great season, or a plan to move forward.”
Rice’s other sons Caleb and Carter are both alums of the program.
The Lynchburg YMCA finished 12th at last week’s YMCA National Championships on the boys’ side and 16th overall. Among the program’s highest-profile recent success stories is Brendan Whitfield, who swam 19.48 in the 50 free while training with the club – one of the best high school times in the country.
Currently a junior at Virginia Tech, he earned First Team All-America honors in March at the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships in both the 50 free (8th place) and 100 free (8th place).
His mom Gwendolyn Whitfield also took to social media this week to support the coaches.
“Brendan has seen unbelievable success on the National stage and Coach Ryan Woodruff was instrumental in his success.
Losing this program is heartbreaking for all involved.Ryan and Abby Woodfruff changed our lives. You have no idea what you have just done. #lystrong”
The YMCA of Central Virginia has said that members of the team will receive free lane time to train on their own in the meantime. SwimSwam has reached out to the YMCA for more information about the reasons behind the changes.
It has been about 8 days since this was posted (feels longer). Having never been to that area I wonder what the options are to restart the team at Liberty University as that seems to be the only other pool location big enough, but based on what someone posted, I guess that is expensive to use lanes there.
turns out, they “resumed” practices yesterday (04/13/26)…just without their head coach…who found out he was fired via email on a Sat AM after returning from Y-Nats at the same time everyone else did, also via email. curious as to why anyone would even return. who knows what they’d do next.
I’m really struck by how many people are sharing similar experiences, whether with the Y or other USA Swimming clubs. It makes me wonder how often situations like this are happening behind the scenes.
In Lynchburg, there are other smaller Y swim programs, but they are not part of USA Swimming. I sincerely hope that’s not the direction the Central VA YMCA intends for our program. For many of these athletes, being part of a USA Swimming club is essential to staying competitive and continuing to develop in the sport.
We only have one other USA Swimming club in town, and realistically, there isn’t enough capacity there for all of these swimmers to transfer. That leaves a lot… Read more »
What smaller Y teams in Lynchburg are you talking about? Roanoke, Bedford, Altavista? LAC is the only other viable “option” IN Lynchburg. Before LAC, you’d have to go to the Gators in Roanoke, or make the drive to Chatham for Hargrave (which is not an option anymore).
Yes, the Y teams I was referring to are in Bedford, Altavista and I believe Botetourt. Different level of swim offered than LY, so LAC is the only other option. The LAC team could not absorb all of the LY swimmers. Hoping we will get another option!
I’m still confused…why would the entire team just uproot and move over to the next club team? There are two clubs that close in proximity for a reason…so that’s a non issue. Also, knowing what the Y just did to their program, why would anyone go to the next closest Y? The athletes that weigh out the pros/cons to train close to home will. Those who decide to make the sacrifice to go further away will. Your options are pretty clear.
YMCA, health club and Tennis club leadership are some of the most short sided people who lack any insight into marketing or increase revenue generation. The only reason and I mean the only reason anybody knew about Crow Canyon Counrty Club is because of the Crow Canyon Sharks swim team success due to coaches and swimmers.
If you’re not following the Ryan aka The Swimming Wizard, you can do so here –
https://www.instagram.com/swimmingwizard
This exact thing happened to me at the Y I coached at for a few years (also a USA Swimming team). The assistant coaches didn’t even get told directly – I found out when a parent forwarded the email to me asking what was going on. I live in a different state now, and not a single YMCA is a USA Swimming team because they don’t want to pay the fees. They continue to lose kids from their teams to club swimming, and the pools sit empty every other night because they refuse to rent out to clubs like mine (they claim that they couldn’t consistently staff it with lifeguards, even when I offered to pay a premium to incentivize… Read more »
I just don’t understand why the sudden drop without explanation – rude if you ask me. Though, I do understand the logistics and possibly because insurance rates are going up. Insurance on swimming facilities is enormous and cost a lot – I also understand logistics and cost of maintenance that also has a key part in swim facilities. However, swimming is a key component of a lot of people lives and our children’s lives and also a life skill that can save your life one day. Not to mention that swimming is one of the oldest sports there are and one of the most popular across the world. This saddens me and I feel for the team – I’ve been… Read more »
The removal of the swim team from the Y’s website, as well as scrubbing any and all history from the public eye is insulting to the swimmers who made the team into the competitive and well-respected organization it became. It’s as though the team never existed. Google it – the page comes up but there’s nothing to see. The BOD was assured this would be corrected yesterday. Still nothing.
Do you think there is a chance the Y reconsiders after this avalanche of bad press? Then again the people who run fitness clubs are clueless about swimm8ng!
Unfortunately most of the time it might be more about the money, if a new was possible to form at a good facility and if all the swim families canceled their YMCA memberships, they might react.
Correct. You get told you know nothing about running a business because you’re just a coach. Then management turns around the next season and wants you to “grow the team.” There is no win in this.