John Pontz

John Pontz is a seasoned swimming coach with extensive experience at the collegiate level. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach for the men's team at Harvard University from 1999 to 2006. Pontz then served as the associate head coach for the men's and women's teams at Louisiana State University (LSU) from 2006 to 2008. In 2008, he was appointed as the head coach for the University of Maryland's men's and women's swimming and diving teams, a position he held until 2012. During his tenure at Maryland, Pontz led the teams to two top-25 finishes at the NCAA Championships and oversaw the setting of 81 school records. Following his time at Maryland, Pontz became the head women's swimming and diving coach at the University of Arkansas from 2012 to 2016. At Arkansas, he guided the team to a 26th-place finish at the 2013 NCAA Championships and helped produce 13 All-American performances. Afterward, Pontz joined the University of Georgia, where he worked with both the men's and women's teams and primarily coached the professional group training at Georgia. He also served as an assistant coach for the International Swimming League’s (ISL) Cali Condors and was the Team USA Lead Coach for the 2019 FINA Champions Series in Budapest, Hungary.