From Athlete to Coach: Derek Parra Gives Back

We interview skating legend  Derek Parra

 We caught up with a busy Derek Parra at the ISU World Cup Speedskating event in Heerenveen, Holland, this week. 

A gold and silver medalist at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Derek is the coach of the U.S. Speedskating Team.  He took a few minutes to talk to us about the team and the upcoming Games in Vancouver.  

As coach of the team, how do you evaluate your squad as compared to ones you were part of in Olympic Winter Games past?

The big difference is that we are much deeper as a team, and that is on both the long and short track teams.   We had a number of fantastic skaters in 2002 at Salt Lake and in 2006 at Torino who won medals, but we didn't have the depth we have now.

We have new blood from inline skating adding strength to our team of skaters that come from traditional pipelines, and right now our skaters are doing great here in Heerenveen at this World Cup event.

Shani Davis, for example, is on top of his game, and others  like Heather Richardson and Tucker Fredricks are skating well.

For me personally it's great to be here in Holland again. This is where I skated for the last time competitively and the crowd gave me a two -minute standing ovation. In fact, each section  stood up and formed a "wave" as I skated by.  It was really something.

You've had some injuries.  Will J.R. Celski and Allison Baver be ready for Vancouver?

Allison Baver is already competing and I think she will be ready for the games.  J.R.is a great skater and is working hard on his rehab.  I heard that he is back on his skates again. If anyone can come back from the type of injury he sustained its J.R.

Who do you consider to be the USA's toughest competition?

That's difficult to say.  There are a lot of great teams out there. In long track, the Dutch are historically ones to watch. In short track, the Koreans are always tough  and the Canadians we know will do well on their home ice - both on long and short tracks.  We always see home teams having an advantage.  We had one ourselves in 2002 in Salt Lake City. 

On the women's side of short track, I think the Chinese and Koreans are very strong.    Our American women are also doing well; for example Kimberly Derrick,  and Katherine Reutter have stepped it up, and Katherine  has already won  A race this season.  

Have you taken some pages out of your own playbook to help our skaters prepare for Vancouver?  I was thinking of your rollerblade background and how you used it to such good effect

Yes I have.  In fact, it took me six years to become a world class skater on ice once I decided to make the switch from inline.  Now it's taking only  a few years for the new generation of athletes to make the same switch.

As it turns out, making the transition from a  road surface to ice is a little more complicated than one would think.  It's a little like going from water skiing to snow skiing.  There are subtle differences between the two sports. Ice skating on ice requires more patience because you have to let your skate glide before you can begin to push where as on inline skates, you have to push immediately otherwise you decelerate.

Have you seen the Vancouver venues?  Will the team have a chance to train at the sites?

I have seen them and they are fantastic. We were able to train at the Pacific Coliseum in the eastern part of Vancouver and at the Richmond Oval for about ten days in late July, and unfortunately won't be able to return until we arrive at the Olympic Village right after the Holidays.

We were given another date, but it conflicted with our North American Championships, so we had to let that opportunity go by.

I understand the USA has already won several medals in Heerenveen at the World Cup event.  Shani Davis and Tucker Fredricks seem to be doing well.

Shani is at the top of his game right now.  He's already won three medals here in Herenveen this week. And Tucker is getting great experience here as well.  He earned a podium finish at this World Cup event and his confidence is growing day by day.

On the women's side, who do you see as an Olympic medal hope along with Katherine Reutter, who also medaled in Amsterdam, I believe.

Katherine is a very strong short track racer.  She has good moves, is aggressive in her passing and is incredibly focused.  I don't know anyone who works as hard as she does - and I've trained with her!

Our  women's relay team is very strong as well.  Kimberly Derrick has been performed consistently at a high level for years and she is one of our strongest skaters.  In long track,Jennifer Rodriguez has come out of retirement and is skating very well as is newcomer Heather Richardson.

I would say our Long track pursuit teams - both men and women - are going to be strong in Vancouver.  Again, we have depth this year.

How do you feel about Stephen Colbert helping the team?  Is he planning to be at the Olympic Winter Games?

What he's done is just incredible.  He's rallied Colbert Nation to our cause and we're so fortunate to have him on our side.  Over the years we have struggled for financial support and he is helping us so much right now.

What does the build-up to Vancouver look like for you and your team?

Well, we're going to be busy.  We have five World Cup events and two domestic events to compete in before the Olympic Winter Games get underway in February 2010.  We're down to less than 100 days before the torch is lit and we want to be in the best shape possible.

Do you think inline skating will ever become an Olympic Winter Sport?  Both you and Chad Hedrick made such a fantastic transition to ice

I hope so. I was actually part of the delegation from FIRS(Federation Internationale de Roller Sports) that bid Roller Sports to    the IOC (International Olympic Committee)to  consider inline skating as a potential summer sport.  I believe our case gets stronger every year, especially as so many in line skaters have done so well in the Olympic Winter Games.  Maybe some day we'll see a skater medal in both the Winter and Summer games!

Do you plan to continue coaching the team after Vancouver, possibly for the next games in Sochi, Russia?

If the Federation wants me to continue coaching after Vancouver I will gladly do so.  I really enjoy coaching and am having a lot of fun working with these great athletes.

Finally Derek, is there anything in particular you'd like to say to our Olympic Update readers?

Yes, I definitely want to thank everyone for the support they give to our American Athletes. As a kid growing up in San Bernardino, California, there was no chance I'd ever get the training I needed unless some very generous people provided funds for me to train under the right coaches and get the opportunity compete at a high level.

I never would have made it to the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City without their help.  So I want to give everyone who helped me and who now helps our current athletes my heartfelt thanks.