SHOOTING: USA Shooting Announces Hiring of Mark Weeks as New National Shotgun Coach

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 31, 2008)-USA Shooting is proud to announce the hiring of Mark Weeks (Clinton Township, Mich.) as the new National Head Coach for Shotgun. After more than 20 years of dedicated service to USA Shooting as the National Shotgun Coach, Lloyd Woodhouse will be retiring at the end of August and Weeks will take over on September 1. Weeks began shooting with his father, Dan Weeks in 1992, but credits Woodhouse with showing him the intricacies of the sport. Weeks brings 21 years of shotgun shooting experience to USA Shooting and has pursued modern coaching and training techniques for the past two years."USA Shooting is very excited to add Mark to the coaching staff,"said Wanda Jewell, USA Shooting Director of Operations."His expertise both on the field and with young athletes will be a real asset for our competitive program."Twenty-nine year old Weeks was a resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs from 1998 to 2000 and joined the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) in 2000, where he has been stationed for the past eight years. Weeks most recently finished in third place in Men's Skeet at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Shooting (Shotgun), narrowly missing a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team by just two targets."I am very excited to be the new National Coach for Shotgun,"said Weeks."Competition shooting has been my whole life and I now am looking forward to being on the coaching side and seeing our athletes excel in the sport and win medals. I feel that we have a very good talent pool in shotgun and the future looks promising."Weeks attended Troy University and is married to Mary Elsass, a past member of the National Rifle Team. Media interested in more information should contact Mary Beth Vorwerk, Media and Public Relations Manager, USA Shooting, at (719)866-4896 or marybeth.vorwerk@usashooting.org. News and results throughout the Olympic Trials will be posted online at www.usashooting.org. About USA Shooting USA Shooting, a 501c3 non-profit corporation, was chartered by the United States Olympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the sport of shooting in April 1995. It is USA Shooting's mission to prepare American athletes to win Olympic medals, promote the shooting sports throughout the U.S. and govern the conduct of international shooting in the country. The organization implements and manages development programs and sanctions events at the local, state, regional and national levels. Website: www.usashooting.org