Cross Country Ski Ontario is pleased to announce Gord Salt of Highlands Trailblazers as the recipient of the Heinz Niederhauser Outstanding Coaching Award.   Gord started in his coaching career almost 50 years ago at the high school level and continued at the varsity level.  Gord then moved to club coaching and currently leads the Junior Development Program at Highlands Trailblazers and is also the club’s Coaching Coordinator.  Gord is a Learning Facilitator for NCCP Coaching course and has trained many coaches at multiple levels over the years.  Gord has long been an advocate for long-term athlete development and has helped the club structure their programs to maximize the retention of athletes. He is always athlete first focused. He is also constantly helping other coaches develop and improve their skillsets and levels while supporting athletes with high-performance ambitions as well as those who just want to improve their skiing and their athleticism.  From his nomination: “I knew Heinz, his dedication and what he meant to the sport in Ontario. I see Gord in that same light.”

Congratulations Gord! Gord will be presented the Heinz Niederhauser Outstanding Coaching Award on Monday, May 9 at ~8pm.  Please join XCSO in celebrating coaching in Ontario.  Zoom Meeting Link

 

 

 

XCSO is pleased to announce the hiring of Bryan Dubeau as XCSO Technical Director. Bryan’s experiences include representing Team Canada at the 2019 & 2021 FISU Games; working with Southern Ontario clubs as SOD’s District Development Coordinator; and coaching the Walden Cross Country race team.  Bryan is a Competition Development Certified Coach as well as Learn to Train, Athletes with a Disability (AWAD) trained.  We are excited to welcome Bryan in this new role.

Jack Sasseville: “On behalf of the High Performance Committee I am excited to announce that Bryan Dubeau has accepted the position of Technical Director of XCSO. Bryan brings a wealth of experience at the club and district level to this role and I believe that he will help XCSO HP continue to grow and prosper going forward.”

Bryan is ready to take on this new challenge: “Ontario has much to celebrate and be proud of!  I am thrilled to build on the great work that has been done over the past several years.  Ontario has benefited greatly from Victor Wiltmann’s leadership. I endeavour to serve our community with the same giving mindset. I feel that a focus on connections and relationships will be Ontario’s path forward to excellence.  I am most excited by the opportunity to support both our Olympic and Para Olympic stream athletes on their path to success. We have a diverse and thriving ski community in Ontario and I am fully committed to working towards our potential.”

XCSO’s Board of Directors, committees and staff thank Victor Wiltmann for his commitment to the Ontario ski community.  Victor will continue with XCSO and manage the CSIO Ontario High Performance Sport Initiative portfolio.