BETHEL — Gould Academy recently announced the hire of Coach Rogan Connell as Alpine Director/ Head FIS Coach for the school’s Gould Academy Competition Program (GACP). Connell comes to Gould Academy from Bates College where he served as their Head Alpine Coach for 15 years.
“I am very excited to have Coach Connell lead our alpine program,” Kurt Simard, the Director of On Snow Programs for the Gould Academy Competition Program said. “Rogan brings extensive experience and excellent ability that will foster success for our student athletes.”
New for the 2016-17 season is an emphasis on the FIS and USSA programming and their leadership structure.
Twice named Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association Co-Coach of the Year (2005 and 2013), Coach Connell was responsible for planning all domestic and Canadian race and training opportunities. He also helped bring the 2009 NCAA Skiing Championships to Bates College. During his time at Bates, 17 of Connell’s athletes qualified a total of 34 times for the NCAAs. He also had students named to the USCSCA All-Academic Team and the NESCAC All-Academic Team.
“I’m very excited to come to Gould and raise the level of the program from the FIS group right through the youngest kids in the weekend program,” Connell said. “Gould Academy is an excellent school and we have a tremendous partner in Sunday River. I plan to update our year round program to take greater advantage of the training opportunities at Sunday River as well as venues around the world so that we can bring our skiers to the highest levels of ski racing all while allowing our athletes to take advantage of the tremendous academic programming Gould offers.”
An active member of the on-snow community, Coach Connell’s resume includes experience as Director of Skiing/Head Alpine Coach for Saint Michael’s College; Assistant Head Coach of Alpine Skiing at Ford Sayre Academy; and roles within the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association and USSA. He even boasts some prior Gould experience having been a guest coach during a trip to Chile with GACP back in 2013.
A two-time letter winner at the University of New Hampshire, Connell’s own skiing ability helped propel his Wildcat teams to top-10 finishes at the 1992 and 1993 NCAA Championships.
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