Richmond Hill’s Georgia Coastal Aquatic Team (GCAT) will be cheering on one of their own this week in a prestigious regional tournament that for many is a stepping stone to Olympic stardom.
17-year-old Joshua Montone will travel to Ocala, Florida to compete in the TYR Futures Championship, a regional USA Swimming tournament designed to bridge the gap between sectional, or local, meets and national competitions like Olympic trials.
Five ‘Futures’ tournaments will be set up across the country, from Florida and North Carolina to California, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Montone qualified for Futures at a GCAT-hosted meet on July 11-12, where, surrounded by teammates and family, he competed in the 100m and 200m breaststroke, finishing first in both disciplines.
His 100m breaststroke time, 1:07.34 (a personal best) booked him a spot at Ocala.
“It meant a lot to have the team cheer for me, pushing me to keep me going,” Montone said.
Ben Umbreit, one of the head coaches at GCAT, said Montone’s achievement helps lift the club’s standing even more, with college scouts from big swim conferences (SEC, ACC, Big Ten) set to be in attendance in Florida.
“It’s a big deal, it’s a big deal for our program,” Umbreit said. “By him doing this, it’s going to make other kids believe that they can do it. And so I think we’ll see by next year and the year after, more and more kids go into this level [and beyond].”
The starting block
Originally from Atlanta, Montone started swimming at a young age before moving to coastal Georgia, but the COVID-19 pandemic initially disrupted aquatic proceedings.
He then joined a summer league in Isle of Hope to get back on track, where his coach there encouraged him to join a year-round club instead.
His mother, Christina, is proud to see that he’s fit in so well with the club.
“I’m just thankful for the team because he couldn’t be in a better place than this team, with coach Ben,” she said. “They’re just really cohesive as a team.”
Umbreit describes Josh as very “coachable”, with a natural affinity to swimming from the day he showed up in Richmond Hill with his mom.
“I was just beaming, because how nice it is to see this guy appear on the pool deck,” Umbreit said. “I mean, he’s built like a swimmer.” (Montone is 6’4” and wears a size 15 shoe.)
“He’s one of the most coachable kids I’ve ever had, like whatever I said, he could immediately apply,” Umbreit said.
And although swimming is something he shares with his family (his younger brother also swims at GCAT), Josh aims to be the first in his family to swim at the collegiate level.
“My goal is to swim for a Division 1 school, and I hope I can get there with training, with my teammates, and my family,” he said.
The TYR Futures Championships will run from July 23-26.
To learn more about the Georgia Coastal Aquatic Team, visit their website at https://www.gomotionapp.com/team/gagcoat/page/home.