Among my favorite ski days over the years have been the days when I’ve met with Tom Reynolds to spend a day on the slopes.
I had planned on such a day this season but when I called to suggest we get together, I learned that Tom had retired from not just ski teaching and coaching but he had hung up his skis completely.
Naturally, this set me to reminiscing about the many times I had skied with this remarkable ski coach and instructor. And equally important, how I had observed him in action as a coach. It’s why he is known throughout skiing as “Coach.” It’s a term of respect and endearment from fellow coaches, racers he developed, instructors he coached on their way to certification and graduates of his program on the ski industry at the University of Maine Farmington.
While I had known of him for years, I first met Tom at Lost Valley in the seventies.
I was working as the professional patrolman and Coach would bring his UMF ski team for training or intercollegiate competitions. Part of my job was to oversee racing on the hill and to direct the course setters to a spot on the hill to set their gates. Often I would wind up carrying the bamboo poles.
At that time I was writing about skiing for another publication and I wound up making some road trips with the UMF ski team for intercollegiate meets. On these trips, I was drafted to carry warmups and parkas from the start to the finish, often with a couple of pairs of skis over my shoulders — skills most patrolmen develop.
On one occasion we were returning from Owl’s Head in Quebec after the UMF team had won a Canadian American Collegiate meet. When we arrived at the border to cross into Vermont, the border agent approached the passenger side of the van where I was riding next to Coach. In response to his question as to who we were, I said, “This is the University of Maine Ski Team. We have been at Owl’s Head for ski races and we’re bringing the championship back to the states,” as I held up a huge silver bowl. He said, “Congratulations. Welcome home,” and waved us through.
That was just one of many championships won by teams coached by Tom Reynolds. Since he started teaching for Amos Winter at Sugarloaf in 1955, Tom has coached at many levels, high school, college and summer camps for U.S. team members and hopefuls.
His two books — “A Guide To Alpine Coaching” (1974), and “Effective Ski Coaching” (2003), can be found on the desks of countless ski coaches and instructors. For more than 60 years, Coach has been on the hill actively teaching skiers at every level, elite athletes and newcomers.
In 1981, Reynolds took on a new role that had a major impact in the ski industry when, along with Doc DesRoches, he created UMF’s Ski Industries Program. This program was designed to turn out skiers who were prepared to step into careers in any aspect of the ski industry, and it succeeded beyond any expectations.
Today UMF graduates can be found working at ski equipment companies in manufacturing and distribution, at ski resorts in management, coaching and directing ski schools. This has been a great benefit for me personally when I call these companies and resorts. I often find myself talking with a graduate of UMF such as Tim Brenwald at Marker. As soon as he learned I was a friend of Coach, I received anything I needed. This was repeated with company after company, and I am always welcomed by coaches and ski school directors trained under Coach.
Tim LaVallee, a Maine skier who rose to a coaching position on the U.S. Ski Team after working with Reynolds, summed it up: “ He has touched lives all over the country and left a lasting legacy for us who remain in trying to follow his example.”
I talked with Bob Harkins, the EL grad who credits Coach Reynolds for his start in a career that led to a coaching stint with the U.S. Ski Team. He told me how, on Tom’s advice, he attended Hank Tauber’s racing camp one summer at Timberline Lodge. When a coach was lost to injury, Tom told Hank to use Harkins as a replacement, which led to his being hired the following summer. That was followed by a head coaching position at Alpental in Washington, where one of skiers was Debbie Armstrong. Next came the U.S. Team, and Bob credits Reynolds with “connecting all the dots for me.”
After retiring from UMF, Tom continued to work with the Sugarloaf Ski School as a trainer and instructor until he moved to New Hampshire to be closer to children and grandchildren. He attached himself to the nearest ski area, Mt. Sunapee, where he taught two or three days a week and coached instructors as they prepped for certification exams.
On one occasion when I joined him for skiing at Sunapee, he was approached by three different instructors, all looking for a clinic. One actually went out for a couple of runs under Coach’s eye so he could identify things they needed to work on. At the beginning of the second run, Tom gave him a drill to address a particular issue.
That was a typical ski day with Tom when he was on duty with a ski school.
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