"I've coached football in Sheffield since I was 17 with pros and academy players. It is a dream come true"

Ryan Hopkinson has been providing private coaching since he was 17-years-old and will finally be opening his own, purpose-built training facility in Halfway in September.

“This is amazing,” he told The Star, “It is a dream come true and I am so grateful for it all. I have been tearing up knowing it is going to be mine.

“I am a working class lad from Sheffield and we didn’t have much money and football was my way out.”

Ryan grew up in Beighton, attended Westfield School as a youngster and says he spent time in the Rotherham United academy during his “playing days”, but didn’t dream of being a professional like others his age and was instead drawn to coaching.

“My nan and grandad would say I need to get a real job when I was 22, 23,” he said, “Now it is a running joke in our family... they are fully behind it now.”

One of the most satisfying parts of coaching is seeing the practice pay off on the pitch and amongst Ryan’s current clientele is Sheffield United right-back Jack Waldron, who signed his first professional contract with the club in July 2024.

Ryan said: “I’ve had [Jack] for three years and I worked with him one-to-one for so long on crosses and passes he’ll see in a match.

“Last season he had an assist which was a spitting image of what we had worked on in a session before.”

The new facility, called the RH Performance Centre, will start sessions on September 2, 2024, when Ryan hopes to welcome back keen, young footballers he has worked with previously.

“I love Sheffield and I love what it’s about,” he said, “I’m no different to anyone. Believe in ya sen.”

The RH Performance Centre will have indoor astro-turf facilities, which Ryan says is a first in this part of Sheffield, as well as a gym.