Born on June 24, 1973 to Gerald and Catherine Ryan, Patrick began wrestling in fifth grade as a part of the Venice Wrestling Club in Venice, Florida.

He graduated from Venice High School in 1991 where he was a two-time state qualifier.

In 1992, he started coaching as a volunteer with Venice Wrestling Club and Venice High School. He became the assistant wrestling coach under Dan Kelly (Class of 2017) from 1995 to 2015. During this time, the wrestling team achieved 372 dual meet victories, 100 state qualifiers, 43 state placers, 16 state finalists, and eight champions.

From there, he went on to mentor other young wrestlers as the head coach from 2016-2023 at Venice High School where they amassed 146 dual meet victories, 28 state qualifiers, 11 state placers, six state finalists, and one state champion, as well as Florida's first four-time state female champion. Under Coach Ryan’s direction, the team also finished in the top five in the state on six separate occasions and took home one championship for academics.