Coaches

Benjamin Blakely has been a coach, athletic director and director of operations at Mount Mansfield Ski Academy for more than 10 years. He brings his expertise in alpine racing to the MSSC team.

Morgan Cate coaches the free ski and all mountain alpine skiers. His son and daughter are both ski racers in the MSSC. He became involved with the club as a coach when his kids began ski racing.

Kyle Cartwright, a long-time skateboarder and snowboarder, was part of the team that created a snowboarding program and incorporated snowboarding into what was the Middlebury Ski Club. He has been leading the snowboarding program for three years.

JP Seeley has a background in ski racing. He has coached alpine ski racers for more than 4 years with the MSSC. He has a son in the alpine ski racer program.

Dean Butler is new to the snowboard team this year. He has been a snowboarder most of his life. He coaches the snowboarding group which includes three of his children.

Dani Bronk is a returning coach to the MSSC. Dani raced for Cochran's for four years (4th grade through 8th grade). After 8th grade, she attended high school at Green Mountain Valley School, and spent all four years of high school there (2020-2024). She competed at the FIS level, and finished out my FIS career with 69 GS and 87 SL points. She is now a student at Middlebury College.

Niki Cohen learned how to ski when she was about 7 years old in Idaho. She started ski racing when I was 8, and raced for the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation for about 6 years. Niki continued skiing recreationally until a senior in high school, when she joined a new skier cross/alpine X team for a year and competed in 4 races, including nationals at Copper Mountain in Colorado. She is a student at Middlebury College.

Annan Duquette-Hoffman started skiing when he was just 18 months old. He has skied at the Middlebury Snow Bowl his whole life. His background is in glades and all-mountain terrain. He currently competes in the Vermont High School Race League for Middlebury Union High School which he attends as a junior. Annan is coaching the all-mountain groups for his second year.

Tristan Durante was a a founding member of the snowboarding program within MSSC. He has been a snowboarding coach for three years. Tristan also helps run Gene's Chili Hut, a local food truck that can be found serving delicious chili and giving back to the MSSC in donations.

Ariella Frommer has been skiing since she was 3 years old. She learned how to ski at Mohawk Mountain in Connecticut and then raced at Stratton Mountain until she was a U16. After racing, she went on to coach at Stratton and also instructed at Aspen before beginning her studies at Middlebury College. She is now a sophomore feb, studying Political Science and Environmental Studies. This is her first year coaching with MSSC, and she enjoys watching her athletes grow in confidence and trust their skiing throughout the season. She primarily coaches U14 and U16 racers.

Tyler Milne spent his childhood skiing any pitch in any condition. In 7th grade, he began racing. In high school, Tyler raced for in the WNEPSA prep school league for Suffield Academy, where he ranked consistently 5th on the team. He ranked in the top three at NEPSAC championships. He is excited to pass his passion for skiing along to young skiers.

Ruby Murphy has been snowboarding since she was 3 years old. She's a freshman in high school and enjoys banked slalom races and park competitions. She learned to snowboard at the Snowbowl, but has also spent time at Sugarbush, Okemo, Killington and Bolton Valley. Her favorite thing about being on snow is having fun with friends. She typically coaches the Snowboard team. She was a member of the club for two years before becoming a junior coach.

Ava Pihlstrom has been skiing since she was 3 years old. She spent most of her life racing in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Now a Middlebury College senior Feb, she loves coaching with the MSSC. She primarily coaches the U14 all mountain free skiers and loves to throw 360s.

Ila Shanely is a Middlebury College student. She coaches the all-mountain ski groups.

Talia Shilling Rabin is from Salt Lake City, Utah and started skiing at 2 years old. She ski raced for 8 years, from age 6 to 13. After leaving her ski team, she worked at Brighton Ski Resort for 2 years as an assistant ski instructor. She says, "The mountains are my home, and I love sharing the joy and beauty of them with others who are just as enthusiastic. Now let’s get out there and carve some turns…or hit some jumps if you’re feeling brave!"

Owen Snyder-Smith is a senior at Middlebury College and has a background in ski racing. He has been coaching with the MSSC for three years, working with our alpine racers.

Adelaide Taylor is a returning junior coach with the MSSC for her second year. She is 16 and has been skiing at the Snowbowl since she was 3. Addie has been racing for eight years and won the Stromstead award as a U14. She works with the alpine racers, but is sometimes paired with the free skiers. While she loves to race, Addie is always ready for some powder skiing in the woods.

Avery Thompson is a 15 year old junior coach for the MSSC. She has been skiing since she was two and has been racing for 6 years. She learned to ski in California with the Auburn Ski Club. Avery moved to Vermont when she was twelve, and joined ski club that year. She now races for Middlebury high school as a freshman. Avery primarily coaches alpine racers, but occasionally the free skiers. Aside from alpine skiing, she also competes as a Nordic skier with the high school.

Ben Walker grew up skiing in upstate New York. He coaches the alpine ski racers. Ben ski raced for Windham mountain race factory from 4th grade to 11th grade, and coached the U14 group while in high school. He is now a student at Middlebury College.

Lily Ware has coached kids in both alpine and nordic skiing. She ski raced in high school at the club level. She coached at the Magic Alpine Club as a high school senior.