Instructors
Wheelchair
Basketball: Dan Ferreira has competed in and coached wheelchair
basketball for more than 15 years. He was a member of the University of
Wisconsin at Whitewater wheelchair basketball team from 1995 to 2000,
during which the squad won two NWBA collegiate division championships.
Dan transferred to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign upon
graduation to attend graduate school and serve as assistant coach for
the Fighting Illini’s men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball
teams. During his three years as assistant coach, the Fighting Illini’s
women’s squad won back-to-back national championships in 2002 and
2003. Concurrent to his duties as assistant coach, Dan worked extensively
with junior-level wheelchair basketball athletes at the University of
Illinois summer camps. Dan has recently moved to Arizona to assume the
head coaching position for the Banner Wheelchair Suns basketball team.
Wheelchair Rugby: Kevin Orr has 12 years of experience
coaching quad rugby. He is currently head coach for the Lakeshore Demolition
(Birmingham, Ala.), a team he created in the early ’90s. The Demolition
have developed into a juggernaut under Kevin, winning five consecutive
U.S. national championships (1999-2003). In 2002, Kevin was named head
coach for the U.S. national quad rugby team. His U.S. teams won a silver
medal at the 2002 World Championships and a bronze medal at the 2003 World
Wheelchair Games. He will lead the U.S. squad in their attempt for gold
at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, Greece. Kevin is presently the Director
of Youth Programs at Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham, Ala.
Wheelchair Tennis: Randy Snow is recognized as one of
the most successful wheelchair athletes in history. His career spanned
four Paralympics (1984, 1992, 1996, 2000), during which he won medals
in basketball, track, and tennis. Randy dominated national and international
tennis competition, winning 10 U.S. Open singles titles and the singles
and doubles gold medals at the 1992 Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain. He
was the first Masters and International Tennis Federation World Champion
and played for the United States in nine World Team Cup competitions,
seven of which he won. Randy has provided much in the development of wheelchair
tennis in the United States. He’s conducted more than 100 wheelchair
tennis camps since 1990, written three books, and served as the Vice Chair
for the USTA Wheelchair Committee. His contributions to wheelchair tennis
were recognized in 2003 when he was presented the prestigious Brad Parks
Award. Randy currently is the president of NoXQS, Inc., an achievement
company that works with corporate audiences across the country.
Swimming: Julie O’Neill has been coaching for over
13 years with various USA Swimming programs, most recently as the Co-Head
Coach and Business Manager of Rocket Aquatics, Inc. in Syracuse, NY. She
has been involved with disabled sports since 1997 and has served as the
Swimming Coordinator for the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes, was a
member of the USA Swimming Adapted Committee from 1998-2003, and is currently
the Chairperson of Colorado Swimming, Inc.'s Adapted Swimming Program.
She has been a staff member on numerous USA Paralympic Swimming trips
including being an assistant coach for the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney
and Head Coach for the 2002 IPC World Championships. She will serve as
the Team Leader for the 2004 Athens Paralympic Swimming Team. Currently,
Julie is the Swimming National Program Manager for US Paralympics.
Track (Wheelchair): Rafael Ibarra was one of the top
U.S. wheelchair racers during his 10-year career in the 80s. He won multiple
road races in distances ranging from 10 kilometers to the marathon and
in 1988 was crowned the National 10k Champion. That same year, he represented
the United States at the Seoul Paralympics in South Korea, winning gold
in the 800 and bronze in both the 4 x 100-meter relay and the marathon.
Adapted sports have remained a central component to Rafael’s life
since his 1992 retirement from racing. He has worked extensively in the
wheelchair manufacturing industry and devoted many hours coaching junior
disabled athletes. Rafael is currently a Rehab Specialist for Sunrise
Medical as well as coach for the Georgia Blazers junior wheelchair track
team.
Track (Ambulatory): Tim Willis is a three-time Paralympic distance runner, competing at the ’92 Paralympics in Barcelona, the ’96 Paralympics in Atlanta, and the ’00 Paralympics in Sydney. At the ’96 Paralympics, Tim was a four-time medalist, winning silver in the 10,000 meters and bronze in the 1,500 meters, 5000 meters and 4 x 400 meters relay. Four years later in Sydney he added a bronze in the 10,000 meters. Tim retired in 2000, ending a career during which he held 13 national records and two world records making him one of the top visually impaired track athletes in U.S. history. He currently practices law in Atlanta.
Track (Wheelchair & Ambulatory): Barb Chambers has filled numerous roles in more than 20 years of track and field involvement. Most recently, in 2003 she served as head official at the 35th Far West Games in San Jose, California, and track and field official at the Endeavor Games in Edmond, Oklahoma. Barb has extensive coaching experience, having served as team leader for the U.S. disabled track team at the 2002 World Championships in Lille, France; head coach for wheelchair field at the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney, Australia; and head wheelchair track coach and assistant team leader at the World Track and Field Championships for the Disabled in Birmingham, England. Barb currently sits on the board of directors for the USA Track & Field’s (USATF) Nevada Association, chairs the USATF National Committee on Athletics for the Disabled, is an active USATF/TAC official (Master’s Level), and is a certified USATF Level I Coach. Her commitment to the sport was recognized in 2000 through her induction into Wheelchair Sports USA’s Hall of Fame. Barb currently works with the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Nevada, as an adapted physical education specialist and is the department Chair of the Clark County’s Adapted Physical Education Program.
Field:
Larry Hughes has competed in field 20-plus years, winning medals
in national and international competition. He was a member of the U.S.
team at three Paralympics – ’92, ’96, and ’00
– and won gold in the discus in ’96. Larry is currently the
U.S. record holder in the discus, javelin, and shotput and is training
for the ’04 Paralympics in Athens, Greece. Outside of his athletic
career, Larry indefatigably supplies his energy to the Paralympic movement.
He speaks across the country in schools and government offices, spreading
his motto: “If better is possible…then good isn’t enough!”
Goalball: Mark Lucas is Executive Director of the U.S.
Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) and has more than 20 years experience
planning and implementing sports and recreation opportunities for athletes
who are blind and visually impaired. Mark, along with USABA's leadership,
has been instrumental in nationally promoting and leading the sport of
goalball from the grassroots through Paralympic level. Mark has been nominated
by the USOC to serve as the Team Leader for the Men's and Women's Goalball
Teams during the 2004 Paralympic Games.
Boccia: Cathy Shea Drobny and Bill Drobney