RIP Sheldon Chamberlain

Shelly Chamberlain, 1940-2024

Funeral Service:

The Church of the Good Samaritan, 212 W Lancaster Avenue, Paoli, PA 19301, Friday March 8, 2024 at 11am with interment and reception immediately following.

From our ceo: chris branscome

Sheldon “Shelly” Chamberlain has been a fixture in Delaware Valley soccer for over 60 years. He is a legend in the development and growth of the sport positively influencing the lives of many young players and aspiring coaches.

As a player, He played at Bethlehem High School, leading them to a PIAA state championship in 1957. Shelly moved on to East Stroudsburg University. He was a four-year starter and in 1962, helped them win the NAIA National Championships. Shelly played amateur soccer at Chestnut Hill SC from 1968-1980. He was also a champion tennis player, winning multiple local titles. He earned a B.A. from East Stroudsburg and an M.Ed. in Exercise Science from Temple.

Sheldon began his coaching career at Springfield High School in 1965. He moved on to Montgomery County Community College, coaching the men’s team from 1968 to 1976. He became synonymous with Montco, teaching there for the next 40 years and serving as an instructor, coach of multiple sports, and as Athletics Director. His Montco soccer teams were league champions each year from 1970 through 1976.

Sheldon was the men’s coach at LaSalle College I from 1977-1979, winning the ECAC Championship in his first season.

Throughout the 70’s and 80’s, Shelly was involved in everything and anything associated with soccer. He worked for the Philadelphia Atoms and legendary coach Al Miller as their Director of Day Camps, Fitness Trainer, Game Day Field Manager, and Soccer Referee Liaison. He also worked for the legendary Pele as his assistant operating his camps.

He worked for several other camps including his own throughout the 80’s and started the EPYSA camp program. He also started the Montco Indoor Soccer League at the college which ran from 74-84. Shelly was an early entrant into the USSF coaching education program earning his A license. It was then that Shelly began to work as a coaching school instructor for Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer. He would instruct and mentor thousands of coaches over the next four decades.

In the late 80’s and throughout the 90’s Shelly was coach of several Olympic development program teams and became the US Youth Soccer Region I Under 15 girls head coach from 92-95.

In 1991, Shelly took over as the head coach for the women’s team at Villanova University. During a seven-year run, Chamberlain’s teams were always in contention for the Big East Conference title, reaching the final four 1993 to 1995. In 1995 the team was ranked 15th in the country, a first for the program.

Having never left his teaching role at Montco, Shelly helped the college one more time as a coach in 2003 by taking over the women’s team.

In 2005, contemplating a retirement that never happened, Shelly moved to Florida. Almost immediately, he became the Head Girls' Coach at Venice High School. He became a Florida Youth Soccer Association ODP coach and educational instructor. Shelly led Venice High School to the District Championship and Regional finals in the 2009-10 season and was Southeast Florida Coach of the Year.

Shelly returned to Eastern Pennsylvania in 2010 and served as camp director through 2013. He returned to the Olympic Development Program staff and teaching coaching education courses. In 2011 he took over as girls coach at Spring-Ford HS. In 2012, his second season, Spring-ford reached the district playoffs for the first time in school history. In 2013, Shelly led Spring-Ford to an exceptional season going 24-3-1, winning the school’s first-ever league title and then advancing to the PIAA Final. They finished as runners-up and ranked #25 nationally by the NSCAA.

Shelly served as an assistant for West Chester University’s women’s team from 2014-2017 where the team was NCAA Division II Regional champions in 2014, Quarter finalists in 2014 and 2016, and ranked as high as #9 in the country. He coached with many other soccer clubs and high schools throughout southeastern Pennsylvania over his six decades as a coach.

Shelly was a member of the East Stroudsburg University Athletics Hall of Fame, Southeastern PA Soccer Hall of Fame and Lehigh Valley Soccer Hall of Fame, PA Sports Hall of Fame, Montco chapter, and was presented with the Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Excellence in Coaching Award.