John Smithson

Co-Owner, Head Coach & Director of Competitive Swimming

Coach John came to Quest Swimming in 2004 when then Owner/Head Coach Dudley Duncan took over the program. Dudley Duncan is best known for his development of Olympians Whitney Hedgepeth (1988&1996) and Rada Owen (2000). During his time, his guidence has helped Quest Swimming grow from 65 athletes in 2003-2004 to between 270-290 athletes annually. Quest Swimming was recognized as a USA Swimming Silver Medal Club (2018) making it one of the Top 100 Club programs in the country. In 2021 Quest was recognized as a TOP 100 Age Group Program by the American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA). Coach John has developed athletes at Quest to the 2008 Olympic Trials(1), 2012 Olympic Trials(2), 2016 Olympic Trials(6), 2021 Olympic Trials(5) and 2024 Olympic Trials (1). Quest Swimming also became the home of USA Swimming National Team Member and 5-Time NCAA All American Clark Beach, 8-Time NCAA All American and American Record Holder (50 Fly) Maddy Banic, and 2-Time NCAA All American and American Record Holder (800 Free Relay) Jeff Newkirk. Athletes from Quest have gone onto become Olympic Trials Qualifiers, Junior National Champions, Junior National Qualifiers, and State Record Holders and Qualifiers. Coach John was voted as the Virginia Swimming Senior Coach of the Year in 2015. John is also a certified Level 5 coach with the American Swimming Coaches Association. John is responsible for the philosophy of development for all Quest Swimmers from Novice-Age Group-Senior and beyond. Before his time at Quest, Coach John was the Head Coach of his home club Team Richmond Aquatic Club (2002-2004). He got his coaching career started at Atomic City Aquatic Club (2001-2002) as an Assistant Coach. Coach John graduated from Clarion University of Pennsylvania in 2001 and was an 8- Time NCAA Div. II All American. He was also a memeber of the Conference Championship Team in 1997. John lives in Midlothian, VA with his wife Tiffany, two kids Parker and Chase, and Dog (Quest).