Joel Shinofield is in his seventh season as head men's swimming coach and director of aquatics at Washington and Lee.
Shinofield's first six seasons have ranked among the most successful in the program's illustrious history. During that time, he has guided the Generals to a 49-9 overall record, four Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships and four Top 20 finishes at the NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships. Additionally, Shinofield has mentored a total of 19 W&L swimmers to numerous All-America honors.
Shinofield's 2008-09 team recorded an overall record of 11-2 while his 2007-08 team notched a 9-2 overall record and tied a program record by finishing eighth at the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships. His swimmers combined to set six new school records and six swimmers went on to earn All-America honors, including Alex Sweet '08, who won the NCAA 50 Freestyle Championship and qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
In 2006-07, W&L posted a 10-2 overall record, won the Bluegrass Mountain Conference title and finished eighth at the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships. His swimmers combined to set 10 school records, while eight swimmers combined for numerous All-America honors.
Shinofield guided the Generals to a 6-1 record, five school records and a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Championships in 2005-06, while his 2004-05 squad went 6-2 overall, set five school-best marks and placed 18th at NCAA Nationals. His initial campaign in 2003-04 produced a 7-0 record and three school records.
Shinofield came to W&L from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., where he served as the head women's water polo coach. He also served as the executive director/head coach of the Richfield Swim Club/Minnesota Federated Swimming since 1996. In addition, he has also held the post of volunteer assistant women's swimming coach at the University of Minnesota.
In one season at Macalester, Shinofield earned region coach of the year honors while leading the Scots' women's water polo team to a sixth place finish at the Collegiate III National Championships.
At the Richfield Swim Club, Shinofield was responsible for developing a competitive USA swimming team for youth from the novice to national level. He helped direct 15 swimmers to national-level competitions and increased club membership from 35 to over 150 members.
A volunteer assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Minnesota, Shinofield aided the Gophers' breaststrokers and butterflyers to the 2002 and 2003 NCAA Division I finals.
Active in the sport, Shinofield has also held head-coaching positions with Team Minnesota and Minneapolis Washburn High School. He currently serves as Secretary of the College Swimming Coaches Association of America's Executive Board. Prior to moving to Lexington, he was the President of the Minnesota Chapter of the American Swimming Coaches Association and was a member of the board for Minnesota Swimming, Inc. In the summer of 2003, Shinofield was presented with the Conoco/Phillips USA Swimming Service Award for his volunteer work in the sport.
Shinofield is a 1994 graduate of Washington and Lee with a
bachelor of arts in biology. He lettered for the Generals' swimming
team as a freshman before his career ended prematurely due to
injury.
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