During his early swimming years, he also received instruction from Hartford, Connecticut's Trinity College Coach Robert Slaughter.
Competition for Trembley set off a highly contested recruiting war between Indiana's "Doc" James Counsilman, and Tennessee's legendary coach Ray Bussard.
Trembley was an exceptional young sprinter, clocking a time of 20.5 in the 50-yard freestyle while in High School, and like his contemporary Mark Spitz, was also exceptional in butterfly, setting a new state record time in the 100-yard event of 53.3 in his age group prior to the New York State Swim Meet in March 1969.
One of his early Tennessee swim mates was Olympian David Edgar, which greatly enhanced the team's success.
[7] Trembley coached Olympians Richard Saeger, Melvin Stewart, and Betsy Mitchell, at Mercersburg Academy.
[2] During Trembley's reign as Tennessee Swimming Head Coach from 1988-2012, the team won two Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championships in 1989 and 1996.
As a high point, while serving as an Assistant Coach at Tennessee from 1978–79, the team became the first in the Southeastern Conference to win an NCAA championship.