(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – USA Boxing has selected veteran coach Joe Zanders (Long Beach, Calif.) to serve as the organization’s National Coach. Zanders started coaching amateur boxing in 1974, and was a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Coaching staff in Athens, Greece. Outside of the ring, Zanders spent 30 years as Youth Counselor with the Department of Juvenile Justice for the state of California and retired from that role in August.

“We are excited to announce Joe Zanders as USA Boxing’s National Coach and believe that his combination of experience at the local, national and international levels will be a great asset to USA Boxing’s athletes and coaches,” USA Boxing President Hal Adonis said. “Coach Zanders epitomizes excellence and integrity, and USA Boxing’s membership will benefit from his knowledge in both boxing and youth development. We look forward to working with him to rebuild our program into an international powerhouse.”

As the USA Boxing National Coach, Zanders will be responsible for overseeing USA Boxing training camps, leading U.S. squads at major international competitions, supervising assistant coaches and developing the athlete and coach pipeline. In addition, he will set short and long-term training and competition goals for USA Boxing National Team members and create an overall expectation of excellence both in and out of the boxing ring.

“It is both a tremendous honor and a great amount of responsibility to be selected as USA Boxing’s National Coach,” Zanders said.  “This is a legendary program, which has produced iconic athletes such as Muhammad Ali (as Cassius Clay), Ray Leonard, Oscar de la Hoya and Andre Ward, in its long history. We need to get off of the canvas and bounce back from the recent performance of our U.S. athletes at the Olympic Games.  I’m excited about the challenge and look forward to working with all of USA Boxing’s athletes and coaches throughout the country to recreate our success of the past.”

Zanders plans to work closely with personal coaches throughout the country to improve communication and build relationships with the grassroots coaches who develop USA Boxing’s elite athletes. “I want to convey the message that we are a team to all of the personal coaches in the United States,” Zanders said. “We must work together to make our athletes successful, and it is important to respect all of our grassroots coaches and the work that they do on a daily basis.”

Throughout Zanders’ three decades in boxing, he has coached at every major national event, including the USA Boxing National Championships, National Silver Gloves, and U.S. Olympic Team Trials. In addition to serving as a 2004 U.S. Olympic Coach, Zanders has led U.S. squads at the World Championships, Goodwill Games, and numerous international duals and tournaments. Zanders is extremely active at the local level as well, serving on his Local Boxing Committee board throughout the last 15 years as well as coaching grassroots squads at regional competitions.

He has been a Level IV coach since 1995 and has developed and led five boxers to national titles. Well known throughout the country, Zanders is especially dedicated to the junior program, having served as both the Junior Olympic Coordinator and Silver Gloves Regional Chairman. He also served as a USA Boxing Board of Director member in the earlier years of his boxing career.

Zanders started in his new role of USA Boxing National Coach on Monday, January 3.