Competitor Coach of the Month is a recurring SwimSwam feature shedding light on a U.S.-based coach who has risen above the competition. As with any item of recognition, Competitor Coach of the Month is a subjective exercise meant to highlight one coach whose work holds noteworthy context – perhaps a coach who was clearly in the limelight, or one whose work fell through the cracks a bit more among other stories. If your favorite coach wasn’t selected, feel free to respectfully recognize them in our comment section.
Texas Ford Aquatics head coach John McGough led his swimmers to an impressive performance at the Fran Crippen Swim Meet of Championships in Mission Viejo in mid-April, earning him Competitor Coach of the Month honors.
Headlining the Texas Ford effort at the SMOC was Jack Armour, a Notre Dame commit who collected three wins and five podium finishes individually.
Armour, 18, set new best times in the 200 breast (2:14.73) and 200 free (1:52.15) en route to victories, and added a PB in the 100 breast (1:02.65) to place 2nd.
The 200 breast swim ranks him tied for 54th all-time in the boys’ 17-18 age group, improving on his previous best of 2:14.81 set last July.
This season, Armour ranks 1st in the boys’ 17-18 age group in the 100 breast and 3rd in the 200 breast.
Other highlights on the men’s side included Yochanan Meza setting a best time to place 5th in the 100 fly (56.55), while he came within half a second of his PB in the 200 fly in 2:01.33 to place 3rd and also rank 3rd this season among 17-18 boys.
The Texas Ford men also raced head-to-head with the Pacific Sea Wolves in the relays, winning the 200 free (1:35.88), 400 free (3:39.58) and 400 medley (4:02.33) while getting DQed in the 200 medley and falling just short in the 800 free.
On the women’s side, Texas Ford was led by 17-year-old Ava Pape, another Notre Dame commit who set best times en route to claiming victories in the 400 free (4:21.28) and 1500 free (17:13.29), and she added a third win in the 200 back (2:17.06).
Fellow 17-year-old Avery Whorton also showed impressive improvement with new best times in the 1500 free (17:35.29), 200 fly (2:20.41) and 400 IM (5:01.40), while Texas Ford won the women’s 200 and 400 medley relays over the San Jose State Spartans.
Pape ranks 7th this season among 17-year-old girls in the 400 free and 200 back, and 8th in the 1500 free, while Whorton also cracked the top 10 in the mile (10th).
McGough has over 30 years of coaching experience, including 15 years at Clovis Swim Club before taking over as head coach at Texas Ford in 2021.
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