Member News

May 2, 2007

Prado Named Finalist for USOC Developmental Coach of the Year Award

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Jhonny Prado (Coral Springs, Fla.), coach of the USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami, was named as one of five finalists for the 2006 U.S. Olympic Committee Developmental Coach of the Year award.

Prado was nominated for the award after being named USA Judo’s Developmental Coach of the Year.

The USOC will announce the award winner, along with the winners of the USOC National and Volunteer Coaches of the Year and the “Doc Councilman Science Award” recipient at a luncheon award ceremony in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.

Prado and fellow North Miami coach German Velazco (Coral Springs, Fla.) coached the 2006 Junior World Team that was the first Junior World squad to have two athletes fight for a medal since 1994.  Together, Prado and Velazco have produced more athletes that have achieved both junior and senior success than any other coach in the country.  Presently, the North Miami program has six athletes ranked in the top-two nationally in their division – five of whom are between the ages of 15 and 18-years-old.  Jeanette Rodriguez (Coral Springs, Fla. / 48kg) had one of the biggest breakout performances of the year, winning the Senior Nationals as a 15-year-old, followed by the Senior U.S. Open later in the year.  Rodriguez also won a silver medal at the Rendez-Vous Canada and finished fifth at the Tre-Torri International in Italy – both Senior B-Level Tournaments.  In her first Junior Worlds appearance, Rodriguez finished fifth – the second-best performance by an American.  Eighteen-year-old Bobby Lee (Coral Springs, Fla.) also had an outstanding year, holding the No. 1 junior ranking at 73kg while also winning the Senior U.S. Open in an upset of a two-time Pan American Champion. 

Prado also was the coach of the Pan American Junior and Juvenile Teams that won 26 medals out of 32 divisions, including seven golds.  The team included many of Prado’s own athletes who won five of the gold medals as well as two silver medals and a bronze.  

Other finalists for the award include: 

• John Hynes held a 41-19-0 record during the 2005-06 season with the U.S. National Under-18 Team, part of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. During the season, he led the team to second-place finishes at both the Four Nations and Five Nations Tournaments in Finland and Russia.  He also coached  the U.S. National Under-18 Team at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship, where the United States successfully defended its world title for the first time ever, posting a perfect 6-0-0 record en route to the gold medal.  
• Frank Madden is one of the most successful and dedicated trainers within the ranks of the U.S. Equestrian Federation.  From his Beacon Hill Show Stables in Colts Neck, N.J., he has trained, in partnership with his wife Stacia, several of the most promising junior equitation and jumper riders. Highlights from 2006 include coaching several of USEF's most promising young riders, including Brianne Goutal, who earned a team gold at the Buenos Aires Nations Cup and was named USEF Junior Equestrian of the Year.  She also was first at the Garden State Grand Prix.  In the North American Young Rider Championships, Madden's students took the team gold and individual silver medals.   2004 Olympic Team Silver Medalist and 2006 World Equestrian Games Team Silver and Individual Silver medalist, Beezie Madden, trained with Madden earlier in her career.  
• Mark Mitchell and Peter Johansson currently coach at the Skating Club of Boston in Brighton, Mass. They have been coaching together as a team for the past 11 years.   Johansson was a four-time Swedish champion, a four time World competitor, and competed at the 1988 Olympic Winter Olympic Games.  Mitchell was a United States junior champion, U.S. Olympic Festival champion, and twice a member of the United States World Team.   In 1995, the two joined forces and began to rebuild the skating program at the Skating Club of Boston. Since that time, they have coached 34 national-level skaters to 21 national medals and 13 international skaters to 22 international medals.
• Bill Rose was the only USA Swimming coach to place two athletes on the 2006 National Junior Team that competed at the Victorian State Championships in Melbourne, Australia. The two athletes from the Mission Viejo Nadadores were Chad LaTourette and Scott Sorge, and both had top-four finishes at the meet. LaTourette won two gold medals in the 800m and 1500m freestyles.  At the USA Swimming National Championships, nine athletes from Mission Viejo competed at the meet. Based on their performances, two athletes were selected to represent the United States in international competition. Fran Crippen and LaTourette will both compete on the 2007 World University Games team.   Rose’s athletes also had a presence on the international scene in 2006, as Crippen competed on the Pan Pacific Championships team, and Justin Mortimer was selected for the Open Water World Championships team. Crippen earned a silver medal in the open water 10K at the Pan Pacs.