By BRET H. MCCORMICK, Journal Sports
Harley Ryder had one major passion in his life, and he was determined to share it with as many young athletes in Central Louisiana as possible.
Ryder, who spent roughly the past two decades training many of the top young athletes in Cenla, died suddenly this past weekend at the age of 42, leaving many in the Cenla fitness community stunned and heartbroken.
“The Cenla fitness industry lost a one-of-a-kind trainer this week,” said James Madden, the owner of The Source Fitness gym on Highway 28 East in Pineville and one of Ryder’s close friends. “Harley Ryder always had a passion for fitness.”
A 1999 graduate of Buckeye High School, where he played football for the Panthers, Ryder spent the past nearly 20 years or so honing his craft and impacting scores of Cenla athletes.
A pivotal moment in his career was when Ryder began working for Don Fields, the godfather of personal training in the area with more than three decades of experience, at Fields’ Alexandria gym, Built by Don Fields.
Ryder later branched off and started his own business, Xtreme Sports and Human Performance, but his early days with Fields provided the blueprint of what would later become a successful business.
That relationship began in 2010, and Fields said he was impressed with Ryder’s absorption of information and desire to learn.
“It was just his constant growing, his thirst for knowledge to learn what he was doing and do what we were doing and why we were doing it,” Fields recalled.
Fields said he and Ryder had a relationship that extended well beyond business and was much more like family. Under Fields, Ryder learned that it was critical to show his clients he cared about them as people first.
“Standing back and watching what he was doing, hearing what he was doing, that’s exactly what he was doing – showing that he cared and then later showing how much he knew,” Fields said.
Ryder was able to change his clients’ lives, Fields said, because he unlocked their potential and showed them they were capable of doing things they never thought possible.
“He was rolling. He was doing so good,” Fields said of Ryder’s business. “He was at Buckeye. He was at ASH. He was over here. He was over there. He was at Menard. He was really doing well.”
One of Ryder’s star pupils was Pineville High School junior Landon Grimes. Ryder has worked with Grimes for years but particularly two summers ago in preparation for the 2021 AAU Junior Olympic Games.
Grimes traveled to Humble, Texas, to compete against the best 14-year-olds in the country. That meet didn’t start like Grimes had hoped as he placed a disappointing 28th in the long jump.
Grimes’ mother, Rachel, recalled an important phone call after that event where Ryder spoke to Landon for 45 minutes to encourage him and remind of what they had worked on leading into the meet.
Grimes bounced back and won gold in the triple jump with a leap of 39 feet, 11.5 inches. Now Grimes not only excels on the track for Pineville High but is a three-sport star who also plays running back and receiver for the football team and is the boys soccer team’s goalkeeper.
“He has helped so many athletes to achieve their goals, including me,” Grimes said of Ryder.
Grimes said he wasn’t the most athletic kid growing up but decided in junior high that he wanted to pursue track and field. Ryder helped him reach his goals in that sport.
“Nobody believed in me as much as he did,” Grimes said. “He always checked on me and made sure I stretched and stayed limber since those were the keys to getting faster and more agile.”
Matt Byrnes, a former star baseball player at Tioga High School and Louisiana College, first met Ryder about seven years ago when Ryder began training three of Byrnes’ children.
That relationship continued through the years as Byrnes’ daughters, Briley and Berkley, and his son, Deuce, worked with Ryder to improve their speed and skills training for softball and baseball. Byrnes’ wife, Allison, even began working with Ryder a couple of years ago.
“What I just really loved about him was he loved my kids,” Byrnes said. “He loved them. He thought Briley, Berkley, even Deuce, he thought they were amazing. They were awesome. The sky was the limit.”
It was always apparent how much Ryder loved fitness, Byrnes said, and his passion for sharing that love with Cenla’s youth was evident. He had a positive, uplifting attitude and always encouraged his clients to work harder to achieve their goals.
“He treated people the right way,” Byrnes said. “He loved my family. He loved my kids. I’m forever grateful. When we run, when we work out, when we train, he’s gonna be a big reason why we work. We’re in it for the duration.”
Mike Henry is another person who singled out Ryder’s positive attitude and the impact it had on the people around him. Henry’s son, Menard senior quarterback Michael Henry, recently began working with Ryder to improve his football and baseball skills.
Although the Henrys had only been working with Ryder for about a month or so, Mike Henry said Ryder made an immediate impact in his son’s life.
“He was such a positive guy,” Mike Henry said. “I was happy to have that attitude in my kid’s life.”
Ryder worked with a number of Cenla’s top softball players and recently began training the entire Grace Christian softball team. Grace Christian coach Mark Rosier said Ryder was a “loving, caring kind of person.”
“The kids responded to him,” Rosier said. “He was very punctual. He was very positive with them. They could tell it was working for them. … He became such an important part of what we were doing.”
People don’t always know the impact they truly make in people’s lives while they’re living. However, a glance at the tributes pouring in on Ryder’s Facebook page or the number of people lined up to pay their respects at his visitation Wednesday evening shows just how many people Ryder impacted during his 42 years on earth.
“So many student-athletes got stronger and learned proper technique because of Harley,” Madden said. “He truly put his clients first. Harley will be missed by the fitness community here in Cenla.”
Grimes said his relationship with Ryder extended well beyond that of a typical trainer and client. He and Ryder, whom he called “an amazing friend,” would laugh and joke with each other about a variety of different topics.
“He always texted me about how I could get better at anything I put my mind to,” Grimes said. “He truly gave 100 percent into every kid he trained and would even travel three hours away to watch people at their games. He has tremendously helped me physically and mentally, and truly loved making people improve each day. I will miss my friend Harley Ryder.”