By Brittany Nelson, USAS Public Relations & Communications Manager
Brenda Silva
COLO SPRGS, CO (Oct. 13, 2022) – USA Shooting, the National Governing Body for the Olympic shooting sports, announces 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 last month.
“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 the 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 and came to a camp at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in 1980. 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 as a police officer, Silva shot on the department’s pistol team and was a range master. After her son graduated from college, she got back to Olympic style shooting. Silva was on the National Pistol Team for 12 years and competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in 10m Air Pistol.
Most 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 Nov. 3-18, in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.