Killington
posted
Nov 21, 2012
As the Killington Mountain School's (KMS) growth continues, so
does its installation of talented, industry-respected coaches to
its programs. Matt Gnoza, action sports athletic director for KMS,
recently announced the following appointments to the ski academy's
freestyle and freeskiing programs.
Sam Tarrant returns to KMS for his seventh season as the head
mogul coach for all mogul programs, from development to the FIS
Nor-Am level. Tarrant began coaching at the Killington Ski Club for
KMS as a development coach in 2006 before joining the KMS freestyle
coaching staff in 2010. He is a USSA Level 3 aerial coach, USSA
Level 2 mogul coach. Sam hails from Saratoga Springs, NY, and grew
up competing in the Eastern B mogul circuit before heading to an
academy in Colorado where he was a freestyle mogul skier out of the
Rocky Mountain Division. He also is a member of the KMS
communications department where he is involved in the marketing
strategy, branding and social media components for the school.
Tarrant holds an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University and
enjoys sailing and fly-fishing when he's not skiing or training
student-athletes.
This year, KMS alum Cory Albert '06 will join Tarrant as the
assistant mogul coach for student-athletes. After graduating from
KMS, Albert studied at the University of Vermont and earned a B.S.
in Outdoor Recreation Management. He is a USSA Level 3 aerials
coach and USSA Level 2 mogul coach. He has been coaching
freestyle for the past six years.
In freeskiing, Kevin Merchant returns again this year to KMS as
the head freeskiing coach for all freeskiing programs including
slopestyle, halfpipe, big air and rail jam. Kevin began coaching at
the Killington Ski Club for KMS as a mountain division coach before
joining the KMS freeskiing coaching staff in 2010. He was born and
learned to ski in Alaska and then in 1997 he moved to western
Pennsylvania where he began competing. In 2004 he became a PSIA
Level 1 ski instructor. Merchant holds a bachelor's degree in
Physical Education from Castleton State College, where he played
for the men's soccer team and became a certified soccer coach.
New to the freeskiing and mogul coaching mix this year is DJ
Goodhue as assistant freeskiing/mogul coach. Goodhue began
competing in USSA Freestyle events as an adolescent for the
Sugarbush Mogul Team. He attended KMS in 2005 and 2006, competing
in mogul and half-pipe events. During these years, Goodhue
qualified for Junior Olympics in Park City, Utah. After he attended
KMS, he returned to home for his senior year of high school and
coached the Sugarbush freestyle team on weekends.
Killington Mountain School is a fully approved Vermont independent
school whose mission is to inspire students to pursue excellence in
academics and athletics in a culture that promotes integrity,
leadership, responsibility, and respect. The school offers a new
nine-month academic program in addition to its five-month
program.
KMS freestyle alumni include: Michael Morse '99, 2010 U.S.
Olympic team member and 2008 National Champion in moguls and dual
moguls; Evan Dybvig '97 - Nagano and Salt Lake Olympics, Two-time
National Champion; Bryan Zemba '10 - 2011 Junior World Freestyle
Champion; Luke Westerlund '98 - 2004 US National Mogul Champion;
Evan Rapps '96, who skied for the U.S. Freestyle Team, but is known
for his musical interests and a successful career in the skiing
community as one of the innovators in the freeride movement; and
Olympian and four-time World Pro Tour Champion Chuck Martin.
For more info visit www.killingtonmountainschool.org
