"We have the best coaching staff in all of Northern New Mexico," says executive director Kristi Vine of the Taos Winter Sports Team. “Our coaches are real pros and are sooo dedicated to their athletes. They are the force behind the team! And, their credentials are a really big deal. The amount of work they have to do to be in this business, to be credentialed, and then maintain their qualifications…is phenomenal.”
TWST (Taos Winter Sports Team) participants are categorized by U.S. Ski & Snowboard age classes (based on birth year). DEVO is for advanced-intermediate seven-year-olds, while Gateway participants are skiers or snowboarders ages 8 to 13 who have the skills for all terrain. Beginners or children younger than age seven have other options, Vine said. “We’re not a ski school, we’re a competitive program.”
Jude Arvidson, a long-time ski racing coach and educator, coaches both intro programs. Arvidson grew up ski racing in Washington state. She has a level 300 coaching credential and level three PSIA certification. In addition to coaching, Arvidson earned a master’s in education and taught school until 2017.
Following time on the development teams, children have several options beginning with the Alpine Race Team for ages 10 and up. “We usually go up to age 18 or seniors in high school,” Vine explained.
Alpine Head Coach and native New Mexican Julian Lacome is a level 200 Alpine coach and a former PSIA instructor. He ski raced and taught skiing before becoming a full-time Alpine coach.
Big Mountain/Freeride athletes tackle steep and deep terrain to compete in IFSA Big Mountain competitions. Head Coach Andrea Krejci grew up in Sweden and was introduced to New Mexico in 1993 through UNM’s now defunct ski racing team. After graduating with her MBA, she moved up to Taos, where she competed in her first extreme skiing (freeride) event. By the following season (2011/2012) she was asked to coach. “She’s incredible,” Vine said. “She has her Alpine Race Level 200 (US Ski and Snowboard) and her IFSA [International Free Skiers Association] level 100 for coaching.”
Aspiring snowboarders from about age 12-to under 20 can join the Snowboard Race & Freeride team and compete in regional competitions or Freeride Big Mountain events. As a teenager in Albuquerque Snowboarding Head Coach Sydney Dunton volunteered at the non-profit NMX Sports, which specializes in exposing underprivileged youth to skiing and snowboarding. She competed, then taught snowboarding before turning to coaching.
“She has her full license with USASA [United States of America Snowboard Association],” Vine said. “She’s been coaching for us for the last six years; she’s a full time accountant and a full time mom, and she’s amazing. We love her!”
TWST’s Masters Racing Program is a training program for adults, ages 18 and older. Head Coach Jeff “Mugzy” Mugleston has been involved with TWST since the late 1980s as a previous board member, Alpine U16 coach, Gateway coach, and Training coordinator. “He’s our coaches’ training coordinator,” Vine said. “He is a level three PSIA, and he has his level 100 coaching. He’s been in the community forever.”
TWST also offers a Special Olympics Competitive Team. “Currently we are the only winter Special Olympics team in New Mexico,” Vine said. “We’d like it to be inclusive… Any athletes that come out of our adaptive school group program are welcome to join.”
TWST Special Olympics Team founder and head coach Peter Donahue has been teaching and coaching athletes of all ages and abilities full time for over 40 years. Peter was a PSIA examiner, a training coordinator for Taos Snowsports School’s Children’s Program, and an instructor of physically and intellectually disabled students for Taos Snowsports School. His inspiration and dedication has derived from being a father of a child with developmental delays.
In addition to her daytime job, Vine also coaches at their annual Spectrum Camp at Mount Hood, OR. She concludes, “I cannot say enough about what wonderful human beings our coaches really are. In addition to their stellar qualifications, every single one of us has a real passion for the sport. We show up on top of our full time jobs and family responsibilities— in all kinds of weather, every day. We show up because we are real professionals. We show up, for the kids.”
TAOS SPORTS ASSOCIATES DBA TAOS WINTER SPORTS TEAM
TAOS SPORTS ASSOCIATES DBA TAOS WINTER SPORTS TEAM is a 501(C)(3) Non-Profit Organization
PO Box 3011, Taos, NM 87571
Kristi Vine: 575-770-8358
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