USA Luge hires newly retired 5-time Olympian Mark Grimmette to oversee national program

USA Luge hires Grimmette to lead program

Mark Grimmette’s retirement from luge lasted about a month.

Grimmette has taken over as the sports program director for USA Luge, giving the five-time Olympian the job of overseeing all aspects of the national team and building for the 2014 Sochi Games.

His hiring was announced Tuesday, three days after the federation’s board unanimously approved the move.

Grimmette hoped for a job with the national team, but didn’t expect to be immediately put in charge. He will assume many of the duties held by Wolfgang Schadler, who spent 24 years with USA Luge.

“It’s a big leap. A very big leap,” Grimmette said in a telephone interview Tuesday from USA Luge headquarters in Lake Placid, N.Y. “My view is to take it as I did when I was an athlete, one step at a time. There’s a lot to do, and so I’m just tasking myself with different things.”

Grimmette won 65 international medals with longtime doubles teammate Brian Martin, including a silver at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and bronze at the 1998 Nagano Games. They also won six bronze medals together at the world championships. They finished 13th at the Vancouver Olympics and raced presumably for the final time as a duo last month at USA Luge’s national championship.

USA Luge CEO Ron Rossi said Grimmette’s hiring is part of a Sochi 2014 strategic plan.

The aim is to improve “the skills and performance of all the current pipeline athletes, culminating in the winning of medals in all disciplines at every level, including the Olympic Games,” Rossi said in a memo announcing the hiring.

Schadler’s job was multifaceted, from coaching to sled-building. He was close to several sliders, including three-time Olympian Tony Benshoof.

“Obviously, I’m very happy for Mark,” Benshoof said. “He’ll be good at it.

“My initial reaction was complete shock. I’m really, really bummed out and upset that Wolfi’s no longer with the team. I personally think he’s one of the three best coaches in the world. Mark’s got some pretty serious shoes to fill.”

For his part, Grimmette seems to know that.

He grew up sliding on a small hill in Muskegon, Mich., and eventually made a home in Lake Placid, spending his winters on the track and summers on the hiking trails and lakes in the Adirondacks.

There might be less time for all that now. Grimmette started the new job on Monday.

“My first goal for myself is to learn all the roles of the coaches and get to know the organization a little bit more intimately,” he said.

Getting into the management side of USA Luge isn’t a totally new for Grimmette. He spent 14 years as an athlete representative on the federation’s executive board.

“My heart is here with the luge team,” Grimmette said. “I love the sport and I’m looking forward to be able to spread the knowledge that I have.”