John Trembley

John Trembley is an American former All-American competition swimmer for the University of Tennessee, and swim coach. After a highly successful swimming career with Tennessee under coach Ray Bussard, Trembley coached the University of Tennessee Volunteers for 23 years from 1989-2012, leading the team to two SEC Championships.^[3]

Trembley was born in Schenectady, New York, to John and Doris Senelt Trembley on October 23, 1952, lived in Connecticut, and moved to the Loudonville, New York area around 1964 where he would attend Shaker High School in Latham, N.Y. John Trembley Sr. was a Vice-President of W.T. Rose and Associates in Cohoes, New York, and both John Jr.'s parents had been avid swimmers. John Jr. began swimming competitively around age 8, and by his eighth grade year at Shaker Jr. High was already nationally ranked by the AAU in his age group. At Shaker, he swam for Coach Roger Bell on the Freshman swim team, while he was in eighth grade. During his early swimming years, he also received instruction from Hartford, Connecticut's Trinity College Coach Robert Slaughter. In the 11-12 year old age group, he was nationally ranked by the AAU in the 50-yard butterfly with a 27.3 seconds, third in the 50-meter butterfly with a time of :31 seconds, and fourth in the 50-yard backstroke with a time of :30 seconds.^[4]

In his High School Senior year at Shaker, Trembley became one of America's top college swimming prospects. Competition for Trembley set off a highly contested recruiting war between Indiana's "Doc" James Counsilman, and Tennessee's legendary coach Ray Bussard. Trembley was an exceptional young sprinter, clocking a time of 20.5 in the 50-yard freestyle while in High School, and like his contemporary Mark Spitz, was also exceptional in butterfly, setting a new state record time in the 100-yard event of 53.3 in his age group prior to the New York State Swim Meet in March 1969.^[5][6][7]