OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 18, 2022) – A young, enthusiastic competitor in disc golf, Calvin Ryan recently was named as the head coach of Oklahoma Christian's newest scholarship-based club sport.

Ryan, 23, grew up in Moore, where he attended Southmoore High School, and now lives in Stillwater after graduating in December from Oklahoma State University with a degree in physiology. He will serve as a graduate assistant in OC's growing athletic department, which now offers 24 sports. He plans to attend medical school in a few years.

Here is an interview conducted with Ryan soon after his hiring at OC:

Walk us through how you heard about OC's disc golf program.
"I just graduated this past December. I'm from Moore but my sister came to Stillwater and I kind of followed in her footsteps. I came to OSU and got a physiology degree. The goal is med school, eventually, but I happened upon this opportunity. I met James (Hayes, OC's director of club sports) at the bowling alley near OC and we just got to talking. We were talking about hobbies and what we do and I told him 'disc golf' and that I was graduating. He was like, 'We're starting a disc golf team and need a coach – someone who's passionate about the game.' The fact that I was graduating was really good timing. It all kind of worked out. It was really cool."

When did you start playing disc golf?
"I've been at the course pretty much my whole life. My dad has always played, since I was born. He's always just taken me (to the course), even when I didn't want to go. When I was younger, I didn't really like it, because I was too young to throw the disc and too small to throw the disc. Now they have junior discs, which is pretty cool, for that reason, but I was way before junior discs. Once I got to about 14 or 15, I finally was old enough, big enough to throw with the adults. I remember it was my stepmom's birthday and we were playing at Will Rogers Park. On hole eight – I'll never forget it – it was my first time I threw a disc and just parked the hole, just put it right by the basket. I think that was the moment that actually did it. I think that moment on hole eight got me addicted to disc golf. Then I got a bag, got my own discs and I've played ever since. When I first got to college, I didn't really know anybody here (at OSU) that played, so for my first semester, semester and a half, I didn't really play, but once I found a couple of friends that played, and I got my roommates into it, I've been back at it since. That's almost seven or eight years now. It doesn't feel like that long, but I've been playing a long time. I've seen a lot of the game."

Have you played OC's course before?
"I played OC's course for the first time a long time ago, but I don't think I even knew at the time that we were on a college campus. It was a really long time ago. I played it with James pretty recently, to check out the new holes that we're going to be putting in and play the old ones. That's when I realized that I'd played the course before. I think it's a really fun course. The piece of land is really, really nice, especially where the new holes are. It's really beautiful and picturesque. The shots are really fun. It's pretty exciting. … In a few months, it will be a full 18."

This sounds like perfect timing for you – you show up right when OC needs a coach.
"Absolutely! I wasn't sure if I was quite ready to go to medical school yet. It's something that's really going to lock down my life for at least six years of hard grinding, and after that, I'm still locked down with work. I was already thinking about taking a year or two off, to just live my life a little bit. Then I met James. This opportunity is almost like a dream come true. I'm getting free schooling to do something that I love and to grow the sport. That's such a beautiful thing. It's just a really good opportunity that's come into my life and I am very appreciative for it."

OC's program will be unique in that it offers scholarships.
"From what I understand, OC's scholarship-based team is one of the first. It's one of the first that I've heard of. I'm really going to try to push that. That's just a good sign for the sport. Disc golf has absolutely boomed over the last few years. It's gotten way bigger. I think that (the pandemic) had a lot to do with that. People didn't have anything to do indoors and disc golf is such a cheap sport to pick up. You can just go buy a $10 disc and go out and play. You can play with just one. Disc golf has gained such a big following and being a part of one of the first scholarship-based disc golf programs is a really great opportunity for me."

For people unfamiliar with the sport, can you describe it? How many courses are there in the Oklahoma City area?
"Disc golf is really just like golf. Instead of hitting a ball, you're throwing a disc and instead of putting (the ball) in a hole, you're putting it in a basket. In Oklahoma City, there are three (public) courses at Woodson, Dolese and Will Rogers (Parks). There's one in Mustang and there's stuff all around OKC. There are three courses in Norman. In Edmond, there are four courses. There are two at (Lake) Arcadia, one at Mitch Park and the one at OC. There are tons of courses around."

Did you play at the college level?
"I never played for OSU's club, but I played throughout college and I played in tournaments throughout college. The whole college disc golf circuit … has come along within the last few years. That's when it's blown up and become a big thing. "

Where do you start in building a program?
"At this point, it's just about getting these players in, finding the players that are going to work hard. Right now, we're building from the ground up, just like Ultimate (at OC) had to do, I'm sure. It's a learning process for everybody. Once we get this team together, I know am ready and willing to do the work I can to make it successful, because I love disc golf and I love OC. Every single person I've met there has been extremely nice and welcoming. It's just a good place to be. It feel a good energy coming from that whole place. That makes me more excited and willing to do everything I can. I want to be a national champion and I think it's possible. We'll see how it goes."

Where do you recruit players from?
"I'm really thinking networking at tournaments and finding players who are at that specific age. That's probably going to be my best bet, because then you have kids who already are passionate about disc golf that are going to those tournaments. They're going to every (tournament) they can. Past that, I think social media is going to be huge. That's just our day and age, really. Posting there and interacting with people there is going to be really huge. I also want to get in contact with people not so far away in Kansas. There's a huge disc golf scene in Emporia. There are a bunch of disc golf hubs there. … If they have kids who want to go to college and want to play disc golf and get scholarships and get part of their college paid for, to do something that they already love. I think that's a really important point. Social media will be huge, because we can't just go watch high school disc golf matches and recruit from there. That's just not really where the sport is right now. I've just got to get my name out there and start talking with these people."

Are you going to try and recruit any current students who might be interested?
"We're going to open it up to current students. I plan to do events with the team on campus that anybody can come to. I think that might be a good way to recruit walk-on students as well, because we're going to want walk-ons. We'll just have to feel it out. It's all a learning experience for me. I'm just going to do what I can."

You sound excited about the future of collegiate disc golf.
"Just seeing this happen and seeing a school give scholarships for disc golf is a sign that the sport is finally being taken more seriously. It's finally growing to a level to have scholarship-based programs. I think this is just the beginning. I think a lot of colleges will start to follow suit, especially if we do well, which is the goal."