Wheaton, Ill. – Earlier this fall, WeCoach and the Alex Morgan Foundation presented Wheaton College women's swimming & diving head coach Meghan Ayers with a $10,000 grant. The $10,000 grant celebrates and supports moms in the coaching profession as identified by WeCoach and the Alex Morgan Foundation. Launched in October 2024, this initiative from the Alex Morgan Foundation is designed to help high-potential college coaches who are also moms stay in the game - providing the support they need to thrive in both their professional and personal lives.

Ayers has served as the head women's swimming and diving coach at Wheaton since 2017. Her husband Jacob was named Wheaton's head men's swimming and diving coach at the same time. The couple has four children, ranging in ages from five to 13.

It was during a Zoom Call with grant applicants that the Alex Morgan Foundation surprised Meghan with the announcement. "The Zoom call was set up to be an information gathering call and as the call was going on I realized it might be more than that," states Ayers of the surprise announcement. She adds, "Even then when they said we would like to present you with a grant, I was surprised when it was a $10,000 grant." She adds, "I cried when they told me, and I don't normally cry. It was really powerful to feel recognized and that this is a need."

Ayers states, "Coaching happens at really strange times, and it can be really difficult to find childcare in those times. For the Alex Morgan Foundation and WeCoach to recognize that this grant will make a difference in finding quality childcare and I can go to work and be present there knowing that my children are cared for." She concludes, "I appreciate that these organizations recognize that is a hurdle for us as coaches."