Jason Parker 2015 USA Shooting National Coach of the Year
Erin Gestl & Chad Whittenburg 2015 USA Shooting Development Coaches of the Year
Sergeant
This time four years ago, First Class Ja-
son Parker (pictured) was preparing for the opportu- nity to compete in his fourth Olympic Games. Now, he’s busy preparing athletes to try and earn their own way and thanks to his guidance, leadership and attention to detail in 2015 there are several on the precipice of GRLQJ MXVW WKDW 3DUNHU·V À UVW priority - just as it has been for 19 years - is to protect the prestigious image of the Army and he’s done well tu- toring Army Marksmanship Unit competitors Michael McPhail, George Norton, Dan Lowe, Erin McNeil and John Joss to great success in 2015. He’s also proven to be a pivotal asset in helping JXLGH 86$ 6KRRWLQJ·V 5LÁ H program as Assistant Na- tional Team coach, helping the team earn seven quo- tas overall. After earning an Olympic quota during his win at the World Cup Final, the 3URQH 5LÁ H VKRRWHU 0F3KDLO paid his coach the highest compliment. “He is, without a doubt, the very best coach I have ever had in any sport in any time of my life.” One of the shooting stars of USA Shooting’s youth de- velopment pipeline is The Palmyra Sportsmen’s Asso-
ciation. Under the watchful eye of Erin Gestl, the as- sociation’s youth shooting program is one of the most successful programs in the country. It has produced sev- eral college champions and USA Shooting Team mem- bers, including two-time Olympian and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Jamie Corkish. Gestl helps organize a youth shooting program that cur- rently has 30 juniors and an- other six juniors from other teams including a few adults and Paralympic athletes. He also helps raise money and awareness for statewide programs impacting youth participation in the shooting sports. In October 2014, Pal- myra was asked to continue WR VHUYH DV D 3RWWHUÀ HOG partner in the future, and an endowment has been set up for the purpose of grow- ing junior shooting sports in Pennsylvania. Chad Whittenburg got his
start in the shotgun sports 10 years ago, following an eight-year military career as a Marine. Ever since, he’s been on the fast track to success while producing USA Shooting Team athletes such as 2015 Junior World Championships Bronze medalist Ellie Roditis and this year’s Junior Cup Team
14 USA Shooting News | Year in Review 2015
gold medalist member Sa- mantha Smith. Whittenburg began as the State Direc- tor of the Tennessee Scho- lastic Clay Target Program (TNSCTP) where he helped more than 100 youth teams and several collegiate teams get their start. He’s has also overseen the USAS Certi- À HG 7UDLQLQJ &HQWHU &7& LQ Nashville since 2013. He has coached several state and national SCTP cham- pions. Now the collegiate head coach at Martin Meth-
odist, Whittenburg was also chosen by National Team Coach Todd Graves to coach the 2015 Junior World Cup Team that took home seven medals. A Level 3 coach, he also serves as a member of the NRA National Coach Development Staff (NCDS) where he has taught more than 250 coaches their Lev- el 1 course.
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