The Woodlands Swim Team Removes Interim Tag, Names Jarrod Murphy Head Coach

The Woodlands Swim Team in suburban Houston, Texas has removed the ‘interim’ tag from Jarrod Murphy and named him as the club’s new head coach.

Murphy has been with the team for seven years, including the last four as the program’s head age group coach. He replaces Chris Collier, who left the program after two years without explanation.

Prior to joining Woodlands in 2015, Murphy spent eight years at another Houston-area club, First Colony Swim Team, from 2007-2015. He held multiple roles while at First Colony, including lead senior coach and leading a satellite program in nearby Beaumont. Notably, US Olympian Simone Manuel swam for First Colony under then-head coach Allison Beebe during Murphy’s tenure.

Since arriving in The Woodlands, Murphy has been one of the top age group coaches in the country, having been nominated for the ASCA Age Group Coach of the Year award in 2017 and 2018. He also has served in a variety of leadership roles within the Gulf LSC and is a member of the TAGS committee.

Murphy also has had coaching stops in Madison, Wisconsin with Badger Aquatic Club and in Iowa City, Iowa with the Iowa City Eels. He is a native of Ohio and swam for Division III power Kenyon College under legendary coach Jim Steen, graduating in 2002.

Murphy becomes the third head coach for the program since 2017. Former head coach Kit Raulerson was hired in 2017, and was replaced by Chris Collier just two years later, who came to TWST from the University of Alabama.

Collier joined TWST in August of 2019 after spending time as a collegiate coach at both Alabama and Wisconsin. The program saw steady improvement during Collier’s tenure, moving from 110th nationally in USA Swimming’s Virtual Club Championships rankings the season before his arrival, to 77th in his first season and 61st in his second. TWST currently sits 49th in the national VCC rankings and recently finished tied for 24th at Winter Juniors West with 27 points.

The club is rated as a Silver Medal Club in the USA Swimming Club Excellence Program, and Level 4 in the USA Swimming Club Recognition Program.

The Woodlands Swim Team has a long tradition of producing national level swimmers across many age groups. Among the names on the club’s team record books are National Age Group Record breaker Gray Umbach, former World Record holder Anthony Robinson, American Record holder Michael McBroom, and 1998 NISCA National High School Swimmer of the Year Dan Westcott.

Murphy’s two daughters, Lila and Ava, both swim for the team, which an announcement by the board says has “allowed him to see the sport from a new perspective.”

“Coach Jarrod has been instrumental in building our Age Group training program and providing consistent leadership among the TWST coaching staff,” the statement reads. “He knows our kids and families and we are confident that his leadership will help guide us into the next chapter of TWST’s storied history.”