Damian Melnicove

USA Weightlifting Advanced Sports Performance Coach

Vulkan Weightlifting Head Coach

Damian was first introduced to the snatch and clean and jerk in his college weight room while training for basketball. Upon graduating from Lewis and Clark College with a degree in psychology and a focus in neuroscience, Damian joined Vulkan Weightlifting to continue his pursuit in Olympic Weightlifting. He started his tenure at Vulkan Weightlifting as an athlete, and his responsibilities have only grown over time. As an athlete, he has competed in the American Open series and taken third place at the Oregon State championships in the 105kg weight class.

After a year of training, Damian began his role as an assistant coach. He worked to improve technical proficiency of athletes during daily training sessions, wrote beginner programs, and coached beginner lifters at local competitions.  

In Spring 2017, Damian became Head Coach of Vulkan Weightlifting. He has successfully coached athletes to top performances at local meets, state championships, and national competitions. In May 2017, Damian coached two athletes to top 25 performances at the USA Weightlifting national meet.

“When I decided I no longer wanted to play college basketball, I needed to find another way to stay motivated to go to the gym and exercise. I fell in love with the process of getting stronger and competing against myself. The combination of challenging myself to achieve technical proficiency and feeling the physical and mental benefits of Olympic style weightlifting has created a lifelong passion. My favorite part of coaching is making an individual connection with each of my athletes and finding the best way for each of them to achieve their goals to become successful.”

Damian’s ultimate goal is to help athletes reach their full potential and to work to grow the sport of weightlifting. He plans to continue to share his passion for weightlifting with as many people as possible.