Veteran Ryle volleyball coach Tasha Lovins noted in talking with Principal Matt Shafer it became a priority to fill the open Director of Athletics position.
The summer is around the corner when camps and fall tryouts occur. Ryle has a big fund-raiser in July and the hope was for the new AD to help with it.
The school just named former Ryle football Defensive Coordinator Mike Woolf to the position. Woolf served in that role under Ryle head football coach Mike Engler and the previous head coach in Bryson Warner for 15 years. Lovins and Engler served on the hiring committee.
“I’m super excited. I was kind of giving Mike a hard time (Monday night) because I was his boss just a few years ago and now he’s going to be my boss,” Engler said. “It’s kind of funny. I don’t think Ryle could have picked a better person. He’s a great friend of mine. He’s a tremendous person. He cares about the kids. He cares about the school. He’s Ryle through and through. I think he’ll do a tremendous job. His work ethic will play into more success for Ryle.”
Woolf served as the head coach for the Campbell County Camels football program the last four years. The Camels may have struggled going 10-31 with three straight losing seasons after going 6-5 in 2018. But Woolf noted some positives from those years that will help with his first AD position. Engler said the two stayed close during Woolf’s time at Campbell County.
“It’s exciting to come back,” Woolf said. “Campbell County offered me the opportunity to grow professionally and meet a lot of new people. But I’ve come back to where I consider home. I’m part of the community.”
Lovins listed several reasons to look forward to Woolf taking the job. He was born and raised in Northern Kentucky having graduated from Covington Catholic in 1988 having played for Lynn Ray on CovCath’s first state championship football team in 1987. Engler noted Woof lives one mile from Ryle and Lovins noted he’ll have an invested interest in the school as a result.
“I knew that when he took on this job that he would see the big picture of trying to build a big community to rally behind Ryle,” Lovins said. “His enthusiasm, his knowledge from being around sports for a long time if there’s a question, I would say yes. He has the experience to help me through it and our coaches.”
Woolf comes into a great situation at Ryle. The Raiders own state championships in girls basketball in 2019 and softball in 2006. Ryle’s wrestling team finished state runner-up in 2021. The wrestling team has finished runner-up three times in school history. The Ryle football in 2006 and the boys soccer team in 2006 and 2011 also finished state runner-up.
“The athletic programs at Ryle over the last 20 years have continued to grow,” Woolf said. “They have a long tradition of excellence. I’d love to help build that championship culture in all the sports. It’s a great situation to step into with the talent that’s there and the work ethic the community has installed in the kids.”
Ryle recently added Lacrosse teams. He noted those sports have to be funded even though Ryle receives certain dollar amounts per pupil from the state government. He’s aware the job may require 60-70 hours of work per week.
“You have to be creative. You don’t want to hit the same people over and over because there are a lot of sports,” Woolf said. “Ryle added on lacrosse for boys and girls. It will be a challenge that I’m looking forward to it. Being around, I’ve seen dynamic ways for it to be done. People want to be involved. You just have to ask.”
Ryle opened in 1992. The school installed turf on the football field years ago. Ryle has also enjoyed success in the classroom. US News recently named Ryle the 20th best high school in Kentucky.
“I hope to make it a dynamic experience for all the stake holders,” Engler said. “You read things about people owning things. The stake holders are the parents, the student-athletes. We hope to make it exciting for the whole community in different ways getting the community involved to support the young men and women because they deserve it.”
Engler does not need to be told about the challenges of playing in the 33rd District. Some years will see two good teams not make the 9th Region Tournament.
“That makes for a whole other level because Cooper, Conner and Boone County with the tradition that they’ve had,” Woolf said. “The kids know one another very well. They show a lot of pride in winning. But it’s tough. There will be teams that won’t even make it out of the district that could compete a very high level throughout the state. But having to be in that district, that’s who you have to play.”
Woolf’s wife Jen works for the Boone County School District. Their oldest son Ryan played football and graduated from Ryle. They have twins. Daughter Alexis plays on the Ryle volleyball team and son Austin is a lineman for Covington Catholic. Both will be juniors this fall.
The job does not officially start until July 1. But Woolf plans to dive in building relationships with the the Ryle supporters.
One of the first duties will be to hire a new boys basketball head coach. The Raiders lost in the 33rd District semifinals to Cooper this year. They last made it to the 9th Region Tournament in 2021.