Olympian Derek Parra to head USS National Allround Program

April 22, 2009-Salt Lake City, UT. US Speedskating is pleased to announce 2002 Olympic gold medalist Derek Parra has been named the USS National Allround Head Coach for the 2009-2010 Olympic season. Parra currently works as the head coach and program director for the Wheels on Ice Program (WhIP) which was created to develop championship inline skaters into world level speedskaters on ice.

"With his Olympic successes and his inline background, we are very confident that Derek will lead the allround program to the highest level," said Guy Thibault, USS High Performance Director. "He has proven to be an excellent coach with the WhIP program and will get the opportunity to continue his work with a team that counts many inliners in its rank."

Parra is excited to work with the allround skaters to create a team atmosphere going into the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. Olympians Chad Hedrick and Catherine Raney-Norman, among others, will comprise the U.S. allround training program.

"Being a past Olympian, I know how important the role of the coach is in preparing for the Olympic Games," Parra said. "My goal is to increase team unity and strength as a whole. In 2002, we were a team and that energy spread throughout the Games. I'm excited for the opportunity and hopefully I can have a positive experience with the skaters."

Skaters Parra trained in WhIP are now representing the U.S. in world cup and U.S. championship events in both long and short track speedskating. WhIP skater Jessica Smith was part of the bronze medal ladies team at the ISU World Short Track Team Championships. Parra replaces Bart Veldkamp who served as national allround head coach since August 1, 2007, coaching the national training program through two seasons.