Chris Collier, the former head coach of The Woodlands Swim Team in Houston, Texas, is facing two charges in Travis County Criminal Court stemming from the night of Dec. 8, 2021, in Austin.
Collier has been charged with assault causing bodily harm and injuring a family member, as well as criminal mischief of between $750 and $2,500, according to court records.
The date of Collier’s charges coincides with USA Swimming’s Speedo Winter Junior Championships – West, which took place in Austin from Dec. 8-11. The Woodlands Swim Team sent seven swimmers to the meet.
A few days later, on Dec. 14, Jarrod Murphy was named the club’s interim head coach, with the team’s board not providing any additional information regarding Collier’s departure other than saying he was “no longer with the team” and thanking him for his contributions.
Earlier this week, The Woodlands Swim Team removed the interim tag and named Murphy the club’s new head coach.
Collier joined The Woodlands 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.
SwimSwam has reached out to both Collier directly and his attorney but hasn’t received a response.
He is due to appear in Travis County Criminal Court on March 10 at 9:30 am.