USA Shooting selects Dan Durben as National Rifle Coach

Dan Durben will serve as the National Rifle Coach. (Photo: USA Shooting)

USA Shooting, the national governing body for Olympic and Paralympic shooting, announced Dan Durben will take the helm as National Rifle Coach for Team USA.

Durben, a 1988 Olympian, served as National Rifle Team coach from 1997 to 2000, then went on to coach the Paralympic Shooting Team from 2003 to 2008. Durben has seen his fair share of Olympic games, coaching the 2000 Olympic team in addition to the 2004 and 2008 Paralympic teams.

Durben won a World Championship silver medal in 1986 in Air Rifle and is also a two-time World Cup gold medalist in Three-Position Rifle. The accolades don’t stop there. Durben also boasted National Champion titles in Air and Three-Position events.

“As an athlete, I went from an un-recruited walk-on in college to a National Champion, World Championship medalist and Olympian,” Durben said in a news release. “I bring a breadth of experience, from coaching athletes from their first day on the range to representing the USA on the awards podium at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

USA Shooting CEO Keith Enlow said that the organization is pleased to have Durben in position as National Rifle Coach, leveraging his experience to bring home medals for Team USA.

“We’re excited to have someone as passionate about this sport and developing athletes as Dan joining our USA Shooting Team,” said Enlow. “We had a lot of great candidates apply for the position, but between his coaching, athletic and even background as a professor, we knew he was the right person to help us win medals in Tokyo 2020.”

Durben brings a doctorate in Chemistry from Arizona State University to the table, working as a Professor of Physics and Chemistry at Black Hills State University in South Dakota. As National Rifle Coach, Durben will work remotely at camps and competition until his move to USA Shooting headquarters in Colorado Springs in late spring.

“The current team and the next generation coming up behind them are wonderful people,” Durben added. “It will be an exciting challenge to work with our athletes to help them learn about themselves, achieve their goals and perform their best in major competitions against the high level of performance and depth that has been developed worldwide in the rifle events.”