Assistant Coaches Announced for 2014 WJUC
Posted: September 6, 2013 12:14 PM
USA Ultimate Announces Assistant Coaches for 2014 World Junior Ultimate Championships Teams
Boulder, Colo. (September 6, 2013) – USA Ultimate is pleased to announce the assistant coaches selected for the U-19 Boys and U-19 Girls 2014 World Junior Ultimate Championships teams. The assistant coaches were chosen by the team’s head coaches, Chase Sparling-Beckley and Kyle Weisbrod.
George Stubbs and Sam O’Brien join Sparling-Beckley as coaches for the boys’ squad while Jamie Nuwer and Moses Rifkin join Kyle Weisbrod on the coaching staff for the girls’ team. The assistant coaches will help in team selection, training and competition up to and through the 2014 WJUC.
Boys
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George Stubbs returns to the WJUC coaching staff after helping the boys’ team win gold at the 2012 Championships in Dublin, Ireland, as an assistant coach alongside Sparling-Beckley. Stubbs himself is a three-time gold medalist in international competition, having won gold with the 2006 and 2008 U-19 National Teams and with this year’s World Games team. Stubbs has been a student of the game since his years at the Paideia School in Atlanta, through his tenure at Harvard and now as a captain of the Boston men’s club team Ironside. He was also the recipient of the 2011 Callahan Award.
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Since graduating from Carleton College, Sam O’Brien has moved onto other great teams of the ultimate world, including Sub Zero; Sockeye, where he was a teammate of Sparling-Beckley; and Surly. He also competed with the gold-medal winning U.S. team at the 1998 World Junior Ultimate Championships before continuing his international experience at the club level. Using his considerable skills and knowledge, he also helped design the USA Ultimate Coach Certification Program.
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"I am extremely pleased that Sam and George have decided to join me as coaches of the U-19 U.S.A. boys’ team," explained head coach Chase Sparling-Beckley. "Together they bring a wealth of ultimate playing and coaching experience that will prove invaluable as we seek to defend our title at the 2014 U-19 World Championships. I am positive that no matter the outcome of our campaign, the lives of those involved will be enriched by two such stellar coaches and people as George and Sam."
Girls
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After assisting the mixed U-23 World Championship team this summer, Jamie Nuwer also returns for a second stint as an assistant coach with the WJUC U-19 girls’ squad. She was with the girls’ team as they won silver in Dublin in 2012. She also served both 2010 WJUC squads as a physician. Her playing career includes two consecutive Club Championships in 2011 and 2012 with Blackbird, a mixed club team from San Francisco. Nuwer has also competed in several world championship events.
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Moses Rifkin is an alumnus of two of the most revered and successful ultimate teams in history: Death or Glory and Sockeye. He too is a veteran of the Paideia School and WJUC teams past, having competed on the U.S. National Team in 1996. He was the inaugural winner of the Farricker Award in 2002 and was named the Washington state coach of the year in 2013 and 2011 for his work with the University Prep girls’ team in Seattle.
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"I'm looking forward to working with Moses and Jamie to build a U-19 team that represents the very best of U.S. Ultimate," said head coach Kyle Weisbrod. "Both Jamie and Moses bring incredible experience as well as unique perspectives. I believe that our knowledgeable and balanced staff has what it takes to build a team that can earn that elusive gold medal in the U-19 girls’ division."
The exact dates and location of the 2014 World Junior Ultimate Championships have not yet been determined. The World Flying Disc Federation will announce additional details as soon as they are available.
Stay tuned to usaultimate.org this fall for more information about player applications.
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