Alan Gillberg joined Carl Sandburg High School in 1966, beginning an era that had a positive and lasting effect on countless students, athletes, staff members and the broader Palos-Orland community. He left a lucrative job in the private sector to pursue his passion for teaching and coaching as Sandburg’s Aquatics Director and Head Swimming Coach. Al coached boys and girls swimming at Sandburg until he retired in 1992, and helped many athletes go to the state meet and other high-level championship competitions. Al also led a high school student club called the Sandburg Guard who volunteered their time to be swim teachers and lifeguards, ran a competitive age group swimming program, taught various classes in water safety (lifeguard and first aid training, water safety instructor training) and ran a very popular community outreach “learn-to-swim program” for children and adults. It is hard to know how many people learned to swim in this program, but a modest estimate would be thousands.

Al was inspired to a career in teaching and coaching swimming by Lane Tech High School’s legendary swim coach, John Newman. In Al’s freshman year of high school, John Newman was teaching a swimming class and said to him, “Son, you are a swimmer, and I want to see you at practice”. Al went on to swim all four years at Lane Tech, won several City Championships, and was elected team captain his senior year.

In 1988, Al received the Illinois Swim Hall of Fame award, named in honor of his ex-coach John Newman. The John Newman award is the highest award presented in Illinois aquatics, and is given for promoting swimming in Illinois at all levels through leadership, service and outstanding achievement. This full circle event was a great honor for Al and for his many years of diligent effort in promoting the sport of swimming.

After Al retired from Carl Sandburg in 1992, he traveled the country with his wife Shirlie until moving to their permanent residence in Florida in 2005. Al and Shirlie currently live nine months of the year in Florida and spend three months each summer in northern Wisconsin.