Lloyd F. Woodhouse (Norfolk, Virginia), 86, the long-time USA Shooting shotgun coach, who retired from the USA Shooting Team in 2008, passed away peacefully in his home on October 1st in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Throughout his 23-year career as coach of the U.S. National Shotgun Team, Coach Woodhouse impacted thousands of people--athletes and coaches alike. Coaching six Olympic teams, six Pan American teams, six World Championship teams, numerous World Cups, and several Championships of the America’s, the USA Shooting Shotgun Team medaled over 428 times in the disciplines of trap, double trap and skeet.
His achievements earned him recognition from the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and he was named Coach of the Year in 2003; the only shooting coach in the history of USA Shooting to receive that honor. Woodhouse is also the most recent USA Shooting Hall of Fame inductee, unanimously nominated in June 2020.
Coach Woodhouse will always be remembered for his unwavering dedication to his athletes, as well as his greetings with a hug and, “hey babe” to all who had the pleasure of knowing him.
“Lloyd is, and will always be, a legend in the shooting community, and we are deeply saddened that the sport lost such a luminary. His legacy is intertwined with the track record of success our shotgun team still enjoys today,” says Matt Suggs, USA Shooting CEO. “Lloyd had immense passion and love for his athletes, many of whom went on to become World and Olympic Champions. As we fondly remember his innumerable contributions to our sport and USA Shooting, we must also thank the Woodhouse family for generously sharing his love and life with us.”
The Celebration of Life will be announced at a later date by the family who can be reached by contacting Lloyd’s daughter, Debbie at Deborah.woodhouse@gmail.com.
Lloyd Woodhouse
Lloyd Woodhouse began shooting at a young age. First hunting with a slingshot and then later a Daisy Red Ryder BB gun with his father and brother.
At 17 years old, Woodhouse followed in his family’s military footsteps. First joining the Naval Reserves for three years, and later joining the Air Force. Graduating at the top of his class with honor, Lloyd was selected to become an instructor. It was during this time, while he was traveling base to base where he met and married his wife, Bobbie in 1959.
Shooting as a member of the Air Force Shooting Team, he attended U.S. National Championships in 1971 in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1976 he accepted the head coaching position with the U.S. Air Force Skeet Team and competed in 1976 Mexico’s Benito Juarez Championships. Staying in San Antonio, Woodhouse coached and managed the USAF Trap & Skeet team for nine years, retiring from the Air Force in 1985 as a Chief Master Sergeant.
The next year, Woodhouse accepted the position as the U.S. Shotgun National Team Coach in Colorado Springs. For the next 23 years, Coach Woodhouse guided the United States Shooting Team to over 428 medals in the shotgun disciplines of trap, double trap and skeet. Heading up six Olympic teams, six Pan American teams, six World Championship teams, numerous Olympic Festivals, Championships of the America’s, and countless World Cups, winning 127 individual gold medals, 109 individual silver medals, 100 individual bronze medals and countless team medals, both in junior and open events.
The highlight of his coaching career came when the shotgun athletes won gold, silver and bronze medals at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. As a result, he was named the USA Shooting Coach of the Year in 1996 and again in 1999 and 2003. His athletes also won bronze medals at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and a gold medal in Athens in 2004.
In 2003, Coach Woodhouse led the shotgun team to six gold and one silver medal at the Pan American Games, sweeping the shotgun events to secure the maximum number of 2004 Olympic quota slots and three individual world titles. That feat earned him recognition from the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee naming him Coach of the Year in 2003; the only shooting coach in the history of the shooting team to receive that honor.
On Wednesday, June 24, 2020, the USA Shooting Board of Directors inducted Coach Lloyd Woodhouse into the USA Shooting Hall of Fame. Unanimously nominated by the USA Shooting Board of Directors as an individual inductee in June 2020, Coach Lloyd Woodhouse is the 32nd member of the Hall of Fame, an honor bestowed upon those who have either excelled in international competition or have served the U.S. Shooting Team in administrative or coaching positions.