FORT WASHINGTON -- Germantown Academy Aquatic Club (GAAC) Head Age Group Coach Lou Williams has been recognized as one of the 2026 Top 25 Age Group Coaches of the Year by the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) and Fitter & Faster.

Williams, who joined Germantown Academy ahead of the 2025-26 school year and also served as an assistant coach with the Patriots' varsity swimming program during his first season, was honored in the Medium Teams (76-175 swimmers) category.

The annual recognition celebrates the nation's top age group coaches based on the performances of their swimmers. The rankings were compiled by ASCA and USA Swimming using data from the SWIMS database, evaluating swimmers ages 10-14 who achieved qualifying time standards during the 2025 Long Course and 2025-26 Short Course seasons. Coaches of record for those qualifying swims were then used to determine the Top 25 coaches in each team-size category.

The top five finalists in each category will be announced on July 15, with all finalists recognized during the ASCA World Clinic on September 9 in Orlando, Florida. Winners in each division will be announced during the awards presentation.

This marks the second consecutive year that a Germantown Academy Aquatic Club coach has earned national recognition from ASCA. Last year, Matt Cox '07 was named one of the Top 25 Age Group Coaches of the Year in the Small Teams category.