About

James Ryan, standing outside of the Penn State University Football Stadium
Photo taken by Pat Barba on December 14, 2011

Hello!

My name is James Ryan, and I have been an amateur sportswriter since 2009 (I started off mainly in the area of mixed martial arts given the fact that I have personally been training in martial arts for well over 28 years), and I am also the self-published author of Desolate Warrior. Please note however, that I definitely do not consider myself to be a member of the MMA “journalistic” community. I write an unbiased opinion column, and conduct interviews with professional athletes and trainers, as a hobby in my spare time.

I currently work at the Irish Harp Pub in beautiful Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario (Canada), and have been bartending (mostly part-time) for the past 20 years. In 2011, I completed what ended up being a six-year contract at Niagara College Canada, where I was employed as a Project Officer (Pre-Apprenticeship Coordinator) and part-time Instructor (Customer Relations/Sales). Prior to that, I worked mainly in fitness management, and as already mentioned, hospitality service.

Special thanks need to go out to my good friend, Paul Dalton, who thankfully, had the confidence in me to start this blog on my behalf, on the condition that I actually use it, thus encouraging my dream of one day becoming a full-time professional writer. Thanks Paul! Still workin’ at it, bro!

Read: And So It Begins…
This was my very first blog post, which specifically discussed the topic of how to overcome the many coaching challenges that currently exist in youth sports. Coincidence?

Please note that this entire page will be under constant revision, so please check back regularly for continued updates. I sincerely hope that you’ll enjoy my work-in-progress, and thank you all for being a part of this lifelong social experiment that I call living.

Cheers!

James Ryan, filming his new interview sports show from behind the bar at the Irish Harp Pub
Photo taken by Jacob Ryan-Albertyn on November 8, 2011

James Ryan, playing a Forensics Officer on the movie set of The Dark Side
Photo taken by Tazito Parafuzinho on October 24, 2010

James Ryan, posing outside of the famous Cheers bar in Boston, Mass. USA
*UFC Fan Expo and Carried Out Fight Gear
Photo taken by Kevin Cabezas on August 28, 2010

James Ryan, sitting at the base of the Horseshoe Valley Ski Resort
Photo taken by Julie Srigley on January 10, 2012

James Ryan, being interviewed by Robin Black of The Fight Network
*Will Ribeiro Fundraiser at Toronto Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with Prof. Jorge Britto
Photo taken by Denae Albertyn on November 20, 2010

James Ryan, reporting cageside at Raging Wolf Productions, Niagara Falls, NY USA
*Rashad Evans
Photo taken by Shawn W. Smith on November 6, 2010

James Ryan, Head Coach of the Fighting Irish youth football team
*Compound fracture scar (and my son, Jake)
Photo taken by Julie Srigley during the Summer of 2009