PHILADELPHIA – After 46 years of training thousands of swimmers at Germantown Academy, Richard Shoulberg was given a warm farewell tribute Saturday evening at the Eastern Interscholastic championships.
Though Shoulberg was not acting as head coach at the meet — Jeff Thompson took over that position this fall — but Shoulberg was on deck through the Easterns meet, cheering for athletes and giving them post-race comments from his usual post at the turning end of the pool. Before the women’s 400 free relay, those in attendance gave him a standing ovation as he rounded out a career that would be hard to match anywhere in the United States.
Richard Shoulberg tribute at 2015 Eastern Interscholastic championships
Shoulberg’s athletes have been successful at every level of the sport, from the local meet to the Olympic Games. Various reports indicate that 16 Germantown Academy swimmers have swum at the Olympics, with dozens more swimming in the championship finals of the Olympic Trials. A few Germantown Academy swimmers have held world records, and a well-known story about Shoulberg is that he would keep the stopwatch he had during those world record swims and keep them in his drawer until the battery ran out.
Shoulberg’s girls’ teams at Germantown Academy have won four overall Swimming World Magazine girls’ team championships, including a tie with Ann Arbor Pioneer in 2005. In 2012, Germantown Academy broke the national high school record in the 400 freestyle relay, a record that had belonged to a previous foursome from Germantown Academy.
Shoulberg has said that he intends to continue coaching at 75 years old. Swimming World would like to wish Richard Shoulberg all the best, no matter what swim team lands him, and no matter what life brings him in the future.
Richard Schoulberg was featured on the cover of the January 2007 Swimming World Magazine
Purchase This January 2007 Collector’s Issue
Below is in extraction from that issue written by John Lohn
An Amazing Swim Coach!!!!
A very innovative and creative coach!
One of his swimmers, Alicia Aemisegger (Class of 2010 at Princeton), went on to become a multiple All-American swimmer in college and was named as Princeton’s Female Athlete of the Decade in her senior year. She placed 2nd twice in the NCAAs, in the 400 IM and the 1650 free, and was in the finals of the Olympic Trials in the 400 IM.