William, originally from Carthage, a small town in East Texas. In 1996 he developed his lifelong passion for endurance sports at the age of 12. He ran all the way through high school and college at East Texas Baptist University and the University of Texas at Tyler. During that time while in college he served as the VP and President of the Longview Running Club.
It was soon after college in 2007 that William became focused and passionate about triathlons. He competed in many triathlons of various distances while being a top competitor in all of them and labeled as an “elite amateur.”
In 2010 is when he first started coaching a couple of athletes while living in the Cedar Creek Lake area and 2015 after moving back to Tyler, Texas it became a legitimate business forming Fly Tri Racing and that eventually led to a full time coaching career in 2022. Today, William lives in Tyler with Calley and their two sons Evan and Rylan.
Fly Tri Racing (FTR) was founded by William Ritter and his wife Calley in 2015 with a desire to build a community of passionate endurance athletes who wanted to get the most of themselves through endurance sports.
Fly Tri Racing’s name was built with Fly because William loved to fly on the bike, particularly in aero on curvy roads and he felt like he was flying when he was running in full flight, and of course he loves to race. The wings in the logo also symbol his favorite verse from Isaiah 40:31. “But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”
FTR welcomes athletes of all ages and abilities by offering high-quality professional coaching programs, whether your goal is to finish a marathon or Ironman or win your local race. We have worked with many endurance athletes over the years from first-time triathletes to Ironman veterans, some even first-time runners to veteran marathoners. Through the years we have worked with World Championships Qualifiers (Ironman & 70.3), cross country and track, state qualifiers, regional champions, professional triathletes, and an Olympic Trials marathoner hopeful (2028). Thank you for visiting our page and taking time to learn about us.
