Lenoir-Rhyne Coach Paul Schiffel Announces Retirement

Photo Courtesy: Taylor Brien

Lenoir-Rhyne Coach Paul Schiffel Announces Retirement

Paul Schiffel, the founding coach of Lenior-Rhyne’s men’s and women’s programs, will retire at the end of the year, the school announced Monday.

Schiffel was hired to lead the Bears’ women’s team in 2007. In 2010, when the Division II school added men’s swimming, Schiffel was tabbed to lead them.

By 2012, they had a women’s Division II All-American and added a men’s winner in 2020. He’s helped the program transition from the Bluegrass Mountain Conference to the South Atlantic Conference.

“I left Hickory for two years in 1984 but felt drawn to return by a very distinct sense of home; the Hickory community and LRU will always be HOME,” Schiffel said in a university statement. “I feel a great debt of gratitude to so many special people including: Ron Hight for reaching out to me at ECU and bringing me to the Hickory swimming community in 1978; Keith Ochs for sharing his vision with me for an intercollegiate swimming program; Neill McGeachy for hiring me as the first LRU swimming coach; Kim Pate for administrative guidance; Lenoir-Rhyne University for their support in allowing me to continue to teach and develop young swimmers through the CVAC Swim Team, many of whom became LRU swimmer scholar athletes; First United Methodist Church for spiritual guidance for me and for their outreach to LRU athletes, particularly swimmers; and finally, my wife of 49 years, Catherine Schiffel for supporting my swimming habit and my swimmers, often creating a sense of home away from home for the team.”

Schiffel came to Lenoir-Rhyne after 15 years at St. Stephen’s High School, the program at which he founded in 1992. He also coached at Hickory Seahorse Swim Team in North Carolina from 1978-84 and 1986-89. He owns and coaches at Catawba Valley Aquatics Club. He was inducted to the Catawba County Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.

The 1975 graduate of East Carolina was an assistant at his alma mater while getting his master’s degree there and was a physical education teacher at St. Stephen’s Elementary School. He served as NC General Chairman for USA Swimming from 1984-89.

“I cannot thank Paul Schiffel enough for all he has done for Lenoir-Rhyne and for the positive impact he has had on our campus and the broader community,” Lenoir-Rhyne vice president for athletics Kim Pate said. “Coach Schiffel has been the architect of LR swimming and has developed a culture of excellence in the classroom, the community, and the pool. He has positively affected the lives of so many student-athletes both at LR and in the broader swimming community. We wish Paul and his family all the best in retirement.”

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