On Thursday night, coach Kip Emig of the Hatboro-Horsham High School swim team in Pennsylvania celebrated his 300th victory as a head coach, when his team took down Quakertown High School.
Coach Emig, a graduate of Hatboro-Horsham High School himself, has coached the school’s teams to a record of 300-53-3 over the course of his career. In addition to helping his swimmers earn multiple district and state championship titles, he has also seen athletes commit to Tennessee, the University of North Carolina, Cal, Bloomsburg University, Albright University, and West Chester University.
Coach Emig’s most notable former-swimmer Michael Thomas broke Olympian Ryan Murphy’s NAG in the 15-16 100y backstroke back in 2014. Thomas later went on to swim with Murphy at Cal and was a member of the 2019 NCAA Championship team, where he scored 32 individual points. His younger brother Andy Thomas was also a multi-time state champion under Coach Emig, and just recently began competing at Bloomsburg University after transferring from Tennessee.
Kipp Emig celebrates 300th win as a head coach with his swimmers from Hatboro-Horsham High School. Via Andrew Walton
“I have been blessed to be able to work with so many great swimmers over the last 30 years,” Coach Emig commented. “Swimming teaches kids so many life skills, things like discipline, organization, hard work, and confidence. It teaches kids how to deal with failures and how to achieve success. Swimming is an individual sport but you will never find a closer team. I think the greatest reward of coaching is when I see or hear that my former swimmers kids are swimmers. That to me is the true love of this sport.”
“[Coach Emig] has not only been a huge success in the pool where he has coached district and state champions, but has he been a source of positive support to everyone he has come in contact with,” commented Andrew Walton, one of Coach Emig’s assistants for over 15 years. “He has just changed the lives of so many, just for the chance to be around them.”
Coach Emig and Hatboro-Horsham will compete in their next meet on February 2, against Wissahickon Senior High School.
The Best!!! Well Done, Kip! Congratulations!!