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about the club
The Virginia Speedskating Organization started its short track speed skating team following the 2002 Olympics. In just a few short years, the program has grown to include over 50 members, ranging in ages from 6 to 60. Several US National team members and one two-time Olympian have trained at our annual summer speed skating camp. In an effort to support its impressive beginning, our club has served as a target market for US Speedskating Development to model growth for the sport of short track speed skating in the South.
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Dr. Steve Burton – Executive Director Steve co-founded Virginia Speedskating with Jim Mitchell following the 2002 Winter Olympics. Having never skated in the past served his largest hurdle; however, he envisioned a program that would welcome skaters of all ages and levels. He dedicated the next few years to learning everything he could about speed skating. In his quest he visited clubs from all over the country where he benefited from the experience of others and brought what he learned back to TeamVA. Steve has always been known for his out of the box thinking. His innovative marketing and development ideas served the club well as it grew from five members in 2002 to over 35 active members in 2007. His passion and creative approach to the sport was quickly rewarded at the national level as he was asked to serve as the Chairman of Club Development by US Speedskating after only two years in the sport. Steve’s vision remains that TeamVA should openly welcome skaters of all ages and abilities that want to skate for fun, fitness or to chase Olympic dreams.TM |
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Scott Koons – Program Director & Head Coach High Performance Team Scott was an outstanding skater and won accolades throughout his career, including: Intermediate Division US National Champion, Senior Division North American Champion, and US World Team member twice. He also was a member of the 1998 US Olympic Short Track Team. He also excelled as a coach and served as a coach on the US National Team for four years. He also served as the Managing Director for the US National Short Track and Long Track Teams for the 2007 & 2008 seasons. He now serves as the Program Director for Virginia Speedskating and is the head coach for the high performance program. |
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Sun-Tae Chea - Head Coach Development Team In the summer of 2006 Sun-Tae Chea accepted the offer to help build on the Virginia Speedskating Program. Jumping in with both feet, Sun-tae moved his wife and two children to Richmond and serves the role of our head coach. Sun-Tae’s resume is impressive, having served as the Junior World Team Head Coach for the South Korean National Team twice. Membership has doubled during his tenure and the number of skaters participating in regional and national competitions has tripled. His work ethic is unending and his warm, caring demeanor is infectious. Sun-tae has truly made himself a home in our organization. |
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Ji-Young Chea –Head Coach Novice Team Perhaps, the biggest surprise of the Chea’s move to Richmond was Ji-Young’s commitment to building an entry level speed skating program. Her dedication and hard work has resulted in an entry level skating program that rivals any in the country. Her patience and connection to entry level skaters of all ages has played a large part of the recent success in our program. Many programs around the country have quality, competitive-level coaching. Very few programs are fortunate to enjoy the same level of coaching commitment in their entry level program. |
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| Kimberly Derrick – Olympian Kimberly started competitive racing at the age of six on inlines. Her hard work and dedication enabled her to win numerous indoor and outdoor National medals and make her first World Team at the age of 16. She was a four time Junior World Champion, 3 time silver and one time bronze medalist. At the age of 18 she began ice training and in 2006 reached her goal of making the US Olympic Short Track Team. She continues to improve and was ranked in the top 10 at World Cup competitions in 2006 & 2007. Kimberly qualified for the 2010 Olympic Short Track Team, earning a Bronze medal in the 3000m women’s relay! |
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| Jordan Malone – World Champion Jordan is one of the best liked athletes in the sport. He connects with skaters of all ages and is always in the middle of what’s happening. Like so many other great skaters he began competing as an inliner, where he truly excelled. He won at the World Championships 14 times during his inline career. Since converting to ice, he has continued to excel. He was a medal winner on the 2007/08 US World Short Track Team, which was crowned number one in the World. Jordan qualified for the 2010 Olympic Short Track Team, earning a Bronze medal in the 5000m men’s relay! |
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Sonia Milan – World Cup Medalist Sonia has been racing on ice for years. She was recognized as something special early by US Speedskating and participated in their National Team Program for four years wearing the USA Team uniform with Junior Category I status. As a senior she has continued to excel. She was a member of the 2007 World Team and won a Bronze medal on the woman’s World Cup relay team. An injury forced her to take 2008-2009 off, but she came back with the determination to exceed her prior performance levels. She indeed found her track again by qualifying for the 2010 US Olympic Trials, topping out in 8th place. Sonia now offers her experiences on the ice to assist the development of Virginia Speedskating’s talented crop of skaters. |
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Landon Hatfield – Junior National Champion Landon started speedskating in April 2002. He was the 2008 Junior Mens National Champion and holds the current American Record for the 1,500 meter distance. Landon’s past success in the junior division has prepared him for the senior division competitions. Landon has earned the US Speedskating Junior Category I status and worn the USA team uniform in 2007 and 2008. He is currently skating at American Cup Group A Level. Short track racing requires perfecting and knowing where and when to pass in order to succeed at the senior division. Landon is looking forward to the challenge. |
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EunJi Jeong – Team Captain EunJi’s arrival was a welcome event for TeamVA. She was an internationally successful competitor in long track, competing at many World Cup events for the South Korean National Team. Following her near miss for a spot on the 2006 South Korean Olympic team, she decided to move to Virginia and switch to short track speed skating. Her passion, enthusiasm and dedication to training has set an outstanding example for her new teammates. Eun Ji holds several Virginia Speedskating records and regularly skates in the ‘A’ final at the American Cup events. |
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Jim Rodowsky – North American Champion Jim is another late starter in the sport, who shows great promise for the future. In only his third season he was both the US National and North American Short Track Champion. He repeated as the Juvenile US National Champion in 2008 and North American Champion in 2009. His number one ranking propelled him to Junior Category I status within US Speedskating last season and his consistency earned him the designation this year. Jim qualified in the top-16 at the 2009 US Senior Short Track Championships. He now competes on the Senior American Cup circuit. |
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Rachel Stewart - Category 1 Skater Rachel started competing only five years ago and has quickly risen through the ranks. In her first year of competition, she was ranked number one Juvenile in the Chesapeake Cup Series and later secured first place at the Rochester Open. She is demonstrating her drive for success by qualifying for the American Cup Senior Division where she is in direct competition for the US World Team. Rachel is a US Speedskating Category 1 athlete . After finishing second in the Junior division at the US National Age Group Championships in 2009, she brought home the overall championship in 2010. Rachel was also one of the youngest skaters to qualify for the 2010 US Olympic Trials. |
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