UK Ski & Snowboard's Western Region Hires New FIS Coaches

The Western Region gained two outstanding new coaches  as Randy Pelkey and Brad Saxe officially came on board, joining Western Region Youth Coach, Jeff Pickering, to form a restructured regional coaching staff. 

The new staff will offer a full pipeline of opportunities and programming from U14 ages, where athletes are introduced to the region, up through elite PG athletes who are competing at the NorAm Cup level and vying for National Team or collegiate spots. With the loss of national funding to support a regional FIS coach, announced by USSS this Spring, Western Region Director, Bill Gunesch, went to the region’s Alpine Competition Committee and asked for funding and support for the region to directly hire its coach. 

A hiring committee was formed, and after several interviews and some ‘out-of-the-box thinking’, both Randy and Brad were hired to fill the void in development for the region’s FIS athletes.  “When the ACC approved both coaching positions I was thrilled,” Gunesch said.  “This is an all-star staff, just what our FIS athletes need!”

Brad will focus on the needs of young FIS athletes, working with Western clubs to bring high performing athletes together and provide opportunities not readily available at the club level.  He will also crossover to help Pick with U16 projects, building athlete-coach relationships with those athletes soon to be competing at the FIS level. 

Additionally, Brad will provide support to Randy and elite athletes competing at NorAm and national competitions when appropriate. Randy will be adding a much-needed level of regional programming for Western athletes and clubs. Most athletes, after high school, need more development time to progress to the next level.  This support and programming are often difficult for the home club to provide, forcing athletes to look elsewhere for opportunities. 

Randy’s efforts will focus on providing Western Region Elite PG athletes with higher level training and race management, allowing athletes to remain with their clubs will striving for their competitive goals.

• Randy Pelkey brings almost four decades of experience to the region, including his recent 4-year assignment as USST Head Men’s DH Coach.  He has prior experience with the region, spending 10 years as the Western Region FIS Coach.  This was followed with a 10year tenure as USST Men’s Head Europa Cup Coach.  Nyman, Goldberg, Bennett, Arvidsson and many other western athletes developed under Randy’s guidance.  The region is very fortunate to have him leading our Elite PG team.
• Brad Saxe has been coaching FIS athletes in the West for almost 30 years, working with clubs in three of the five western divisions: IMD, FW and PNW.  He also coached with the USST Men’s Europa Cup Team for three years.  Brad understands and deeply cares about the challenges facing young FIS athletes, and will passionately work to help athletes and coaches find solutions to connect development between the club, region and the national team.  Brad is an excellent fit for the regional FIS coach.