USA Shooting, the National Governing Body for the Olympic shooting sports in the United States, has announced the hiring of Brenda Silva as the National Paralympic coach and manager.
Silva will be responsible for all management, training and programming for the U.S. National Paralympic Team.
A selection committee consisting of USA Shooting athletes and staff evaluated candidates for this critical position before making a final decision in September.
“I am excited to manage a really great group of people who have huge potential,” said Silva. “I plan to provide them the tools they need to succeed.”
Silva has worked with USA Shooting and the Paralympic Team for three years, coaching Paralympic pistol athletes and traveling to competitions as the team manager.
Not only has Silva been involved with the team, but she has had an extensive shooting career herself. Silva first started shooting as a junior pistol athlete, resulting in a 1980 trip to a camp at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. Silva put her Olympic shooting career on pause while she served as a police officer for 29 years at the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in California.
During her time in law enforcement, Silva was a member of the department’s pistol team, as well as a range master. After her son’s graduation from college, she returned to Olympic-style shooting. Silva was on the U.S. National Pistol Team for 12 years, competing at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in the 10-meter Air Pistol event.
Recently, Silva served as the president of the White Mountain Shooters Association in Arizona for two years.
Silva will be accompanying the Paralympic team at the 2022 WSPS World Championships, taking place November 3-18, in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
Learn more about USA Shooting at usashooting.org.
