With the expansion of their sports program, Athletic Director Jeff Barber hired Jake Shellenberger as the department’s first-ever head women’s swimming coach.
Women’s swimming, which will become Liberty’s 20th NCAA Division I program, is slated to start competition during the 2010-11 academic year. Shellenberger will begin to build the program this upcoming athletics season, which will compete at the club level, before gaining full Division I status next year.
“We are thrilled to name Jake Shellenberger as our first-ever swimming coach here at Liberty,” commented Barber. “We had a number of high-quality coaches interested in the position, but Jake stood out among them all. He has already been a part of several top-notch coaching staffs, as he comes from Penn State, has worked under USA Olympic Coach Frank Busch and under one of the world’s top sprint coaches in Rick DeMont at Arizona. He is a tremendous fit for our University and we are anticipating great things from this program.”
Shellenberger just recently completed his third season as an assistant coach on Penn State’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving coaching staff. During his three-year stint with the Nittany Lions, Shellenberger worked primarily with Penn State’s male and female sprinters.
Over the past three seasons, Shellenberger has instructed 15 NCAA qualifiers, 13 school record holders, eight NCAA All-America honorable-mention performers, two Olympic Trials finalists, two NCAA All-Americans and the Nittany Lion’s first-ever individual national champion (Pat Schrik/2008 national champion in the men’s 200y backstroke).
Besides writing and directing Penn State’s dryland and yearly plyometric and strength programs, Shellenberger has focused on the Nittany Lion’s recruiting efforts. His first recruiting class at Penn State was ranked No. 21 nationally by CollegeSwimming.com, while his second was listed at No. 15.
“I am excited to join the Liberty family and I am grateful for the opportunity to do so,” stated Shellenberger. “The chance to start a brand new program is something special and I am eager to hit the ground running.”
During the summer of 2007, Shellenberger served as a volunteer assistant coach at Arizona, where he worked under Arizona head coach and USA Olympic coach Frank Busch and Rick DeMont, the Wildcats’ world-renowned sprint coach.
Prior to his days at Penn State and Arizona, Shellenberger got his collegiate coaching start as the head women’s swimming coach at Millersville University in 2006. He also gained valuable coaching experience as an assistant coach under Pete Clark at the Trident Swim Club in Lancaster, Pa., and as an assistant coach under Donnie Miller at Chambersburg Area Senior High School.
Shellenberger graduated from Shippensburg University with a bachelor of arts in history in December of 2005, while receiving a minor in coaching. He was a four-year member of the Raiders’ program, captaining the team during the 2004-05 season. Shellenberger is a former certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and is a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
He’s a young coach with a lot of ambitions.
I like when they hire male swim coaches for women. I just think that’s not the best idea, because there are WAY to many occasions for the coach to be put in a compromising position without intending to.
Just my two cents.
I like when they hire male swim coaches for women. I just think that’s not the best idea, because there are WAY to many occasions for the coach to be put in a compromising position without intending to.
Just my two cents.