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Because it's what we do

Former U.S. Snowboarding Halfpipe Head Coach Bud Keene was named the 2006 National Coach of the Year by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) at a luncheon held Thursday, May 3, in collaboration with the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in Washington.

Also recognized at the event was Hannah Teter (Belmont, VT), who won the 2006 SportsWoman of the Year award for her 2006 halfpipe gold medal and humanitarian efforts. Following her victory in Torino, the former Chevrolet U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix champion created a line of Grade A, Vermont Maple Syrup called "Hannah's Gold" with all profits donated to poverty stricken children in Africa through a partnership with World Vision.

After moving up from assistant halfpipe coach following the 2002 Olympic Games, where Keene coached Teter as a forerunner, he guided the U.S. Snowboarding halfpipe program to a four-medal performance in Torino with Teter and Shaun White (Carlsbad) claiming gold medals and Gretchen Bleiler Aspen) and Danny Kass (Mammoth) taking silver. Additionally Elena Hight (South Lake Tahoe) and Mason Aguirre (Mammoth) finished just off the podium in fourth.

"This is a big honor," said Keene. "But this is more of a recognition for the sport of snowboarding. It's a big deal for the USOC to recognize the sport and truly shows how far it's come. It's easy to just look at the Olympics, but this was a four-year effort that I'll never forget. I'm the recipient, but snowboarding deserves the honor."

Following the 2006 season, Keene stepped down from U.S. Snowboarding to rejoin the Mt. Mansfield Ski and Snowboard Club in Stowe, VT, where he was a snowboarding coach throughout the Nineties. In his new role as freestyle director, Keene says it's important for coaches to make the full circle of teaching at all levels.

"It's a magical feeling, really, because I can take all of the experiences I've had as a coach of the best riders in the world and bring it back to the grassroots level," said Keene. "It's something every coach should do. I read an article once, I think it was in a USOC coaching magazine, which quoted someone as saying ‘the best coaches aren't necessarily at the top level,' and that really rings true. This is just as important as what I've been doing the last four years."

"No doubt, this award was a great accomplishment for Bud and shows his love for snowboarding," said U.S. Snowboarding Program Director Jeremy Forster. "This demonstrates his leadership and support for U.S. Snowboarding. His philosophy was always about creating a team atmosphere. He took that philosophy into the Olympics and the team nearly produced six medals."

Along with building and maintaining that atmosphere, Keene produced the first U.S. Snowboarding film, A Theory of Revolution, an instructional DVD featuring U.S. Snowboaring pro riders, built to help young riders progress their halfpipe skills. The film was released in early February and was a "big success" and Keene says to expect more DVD projects from U.S. Snowboarding.

Keene also took some time in the nation's capitol to meet with Vermont Congressman Peter Welch and says he's working on getting Welch and a few other politicians up to Stowe for some snowboarding lessons next winter. "I also got him to agree that 50 percent of the Vermont budget is now going to go to snowboarding," he joked.