Alpine

U.S. Alpine Ski Team Gets Speed Band Back Together

by
Megan Harrod
2017-04-07 11:30
 

PARK CITY, UT (April 7, 2017) — Former U.S. Ski Team coaches John “Johno” McBride and Chip White will both return to the U.S. Alpine Ski Team for the Olympic season. McBride will take over as head men’s speed coach and White will step in as head women’s speed coach, while present Men’s Head Speed Coach Alex Hoedlmoser returns to the women’s alpine speed team, specifically to support Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO).

Heading into the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic year, the Team has made changes to bring extensive coaching experience and familiarity to the men’s and women’s World Cup speed teams.

This isn’t Aspen Valley Ski Club (AVSC) alumnus and current head coach McBride’s first rodeo with the U.S. Ski Team. McBride started with the U.S. Ski Team as a speed coach in the 1990s and is perhaps best known for his tenure as Bode Miller’s (Franconia, NH) coach during the two seasons when Miller won the overall World Cup title as well as his medal performances in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. McBride followed that up with a four-year stint as a speed coach with Alpine Canada before spending the last two years with AVSC.

A longtime resident of Mammoth Lakes, CA, White was first welcomed into the U.S. Ski Team family in 1990 as a project coach with the men's speed team. He joined the women's speed team in 1996, spent 14 seasons as an assistant coach, before being promoted to women's speed head coach after the 2010 Olympic season through the 2014 Sochi Olympic season. Most recently, White has served as head coach for Mammoth Mountain Ski and Snowboard Team.

During his stint with the U.S. Ski Team, White coached one of the most successful women’s speed teams, grabbing 122 World Cup podiums, 13 World Cup titles, 10 World Championship medals and six Olympic medals. White led all six members of his World Cup team to the podium during the 2013 season.


Chris Knight, Chip White, Alex Hoedlmoser and staff stand on the podium in Lake Louise with Lindsey Vonn and Stacey Cook after the women's team finished 1-2 twice in 2012. (Roger Witney)

Hoedlmoser, who has been with the U.S. Ski Team for 20 years, will return to the women’s program, bringing vast knowledge to the women’s speed team. Hoedlmoser will work specifically with Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn, supporting coach Chris Knight— who will continue to drive Vonn’s program. With this change, the U.S. Ski Team aims to provide strong support to Vonn in her quest for Olympic gold and endeavor to surpass Swede Ingemar Stenmark’s record of 86 victories and become the winningest alpine ski racer of all time.


Chip White, Alex Hoedlmoser and women's speed staff pose with Lindsey Vonn after securing her third-straight World Cup downhill crystal globe in 2010. (U.S. Ski Team)

Assistant Coach Karin Harjo, who made history when she became the first female coach to set an Audi FIS Ski World Cup slalom course in 2016 at Flachau, Austria, will make the move from the women’s technical side to the women’s speed side. Harjo has worked with many of the women’s speed team athletes during her tenure as a Western Region coach prior to her role with the U.S. Ski Team. Assistant Coach Jim Pollock will move from the women’s speed side to the women’s technical side.

All of the coaches will officially assume their new role with the U.S. Ski Team for the first prep period camps of the season in May.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Chip White will return as women’s speed head coach and John "Johno" McBride will return to the men’s program as men’s speed head coach.
  • Alex Hoedlmoser will move from men’s speed to women’s speed, working specifically with Lindsey Vonn, supporting coach Chris Knight, who drives the program.
  • Karin Harjo will move from women’s tech to women’s speed as assistant coach, while Jim Pollock will move from women’s speed to women’s tech as assistant coach.
  • All of the coaches will officially assume their new role with the U.S. Ski Team for the first prep period camps of the season in May.

 

QUOTES

Patrick Riml, Alpine Director
We look forward to the return of Johno and Chip to the U.S. Ski Team. Both coaches have extensive experience at the World Cup level and have worked with many of our top athletes, and I believe they will help steer our speed teams in the right direction as we sharpen our focus on the PyeongChang Olympic Games. Alex Hoedlmoser’s return to the women’s speed team, supporting Chris Knight, is invaluable as Lindsey attempts to break Ingemar Stenmark’s World Cup win record of 86 victories.  

 


 


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