The Ryan Pyles Aquatic Foundation was founded by Kennette and Russ Pyles, after tragedy struck her family. On July 4th, 1999, Kennette’s son, 3 year old Ryan, went missing during a July 4th weekend celebration attended on family friend’s river side property. He was found shortly after, floating in the river nearby the dock. Paramedics attempted resuscitation at the scene before Ryan was air-lifted by helicopter to the hospital, where they confirmed that he could not be saved. While fresh in mourning, Kennette’s mom informed her about a program that instructed children as young as 6 months in rescuing themselves from drowning. A believe-it-when-I-see-it kind of person, Kennette found herself in Florida with her 1 year old daughter, meeting Dr. Harvey Barnett.
Even after having her daughter taught these life saving skills, Kennette knew that other parents would want to protect their children in the same way. There were no survival swimming instructors local to her area, so over the next several years, Kennette’s family took it upon themselves to bring survival swimming instruction to Atlanta. Since then, countless children have passed through the water safely with Kennette and RPAF’s guidance, with just as many down the road to come. Kennette is a certified instructor with Survival Swim Development Network, or SSDN. Kennette and RPAF continue to push for better access to survival swim lessons and water safety education, The construction of Ryan’s Swim Academy will benefit our local surrounding communities.
Kennette Pyles: Certified Instructor, Founder
Kennette has been teaching survival swimming lessons for over 20 years and has serviced Brentwood, Franklin and Nashville since 2004. She is an active member of the BEAT triathlon group and is herself, an Iron Man finisher from IMLouisville, 2015. RPAF is a founding sponsor of the Nolensville Kids Triathlon presented annually. Kennette has four children, one grandson and too many pets to count!
Russell Pyles has been an instructor with RPAF since 2018. Russell loves giving high fives and wearing goofy baseball hats while in the water. His free time is most preferred spent hanging out with his wife and son, whether it be through gaming, hiking or playing with their dog. Russell also loves cats and tries to make friends with them whenever he meets one!
Ryan's Swim Academy 