Mike Haid

Mike Haid
Thredbo Mountain Operations (Moguls)
Thredbo Alpine Village,
NSW, Australia
Marie Annick Bedard (Directrice Generale)
Claudine Gelinas (Coordonnatrice au Developpement)
William Guy-Tessier (Entraineur EQ Developpment-Bosses)
FQSA
Dear, FQSA,
Greetings from Western Canada, as a Canadian I’m in constant awe and admiration of
your FQSA mogul skiers. A clear memory of JLB’s first ever World Cup win as a 16
year old in Quebec (1991) I feel, was the start of your domination and influence in the
world of mogul skiing. 24 years later…FQSA skiers on our Canadian National Team set
the bar to which every other international team and athlete aspires for.
I have been asked by my employer (Thredbo Mountain Resort) to apply my knowledge
and contacts to assist in recruiting a suitable club level mogul coach for the Mountain Ski
Academy at our resort in Australia. I would like to ask FQSA for your approval and
possible assistance to discover such a person that comes from your program.
This position is seasonal (late June to mid-September) and is well suited for a mogul
specific coach who is currently not contracted to work a full YTP (12-month) schedule
with their home club in Quebec.
Coaching certifications that are desired would be,
• CFSA TSM1, TSM2, and Comp Dev Moguls.
• CFSA Air 1,2,3 and 4 (trampoline and on snow inverts, mogul specific)
Air Certification is important as we have access to a good trampoline facility along with a
suitable site on snow for inverted aerials.
The coaching season is relatively short compared to here in Canada (12 weeks) yet very
busy. Competition events start in the first week of July and run almost constantly right
through to mid-September. Thredbo will be hosting 3 separate mogul events for the
upcoming season with numerous others just down the valley at Perisher. There are a
couple of out of state events in Victoria, which are also on the calendar.
We hope to find an applicant for this position who has strong coaching and on snow
demonstration skills (TSM 1 & 2) at the entry and club level. This will be very active
coaching with the ability to lead young athletes through the roller/wave tank progression,
mogul lines, and basic upright jumps (flips if the coach is still active with inverts) plus…
free skiing with the kids. Thredbo is a big mountain with plenty of natural bumps, an
extensive park and wide-open free skiing terrain.
Thredbo’s mogul program enters its 3rd season under the direction from Mountain
Operations (training & comp venues) with the Mountain Academy responsible for
coaching. We are in a building stage of this mogul program, acquiring skilled
professionals from overseas is advantageous to both foreign workers and us. Many
international professionals travel to Thredbo every season to apply their trade. Alpine
coaches, instructors, cat drivers, park builders, and snowmakers all seem to value the
opportunity to be on the snow during the short Australian Winter. I fit in to this category
as I have been skiing and working in the Australian Alps since 1982.
My first big international freestyle ski event was here in Thredbo in 1982 and saw some
of the original “Quebec Air Force” athletes fly through the air. Alain Laroche skied in the
combined (moguls, air, ballet) on my first tour of the Peter Styvesant Freestyle Skiing
events. Over the years as I shifted to freestyle site building, I have had the pleasure to
step many a landing on the air site for all of the superstars on the original Quebec Air
Force…Jean-Marc, Phillip, Alain, Lloyd, Nicolas and others in their absolute prime.
On the mogul side, I have worked many World Cup and Canadian National events to see
the careers of JLB, PA Rousseau, Alex and other FQSA skiers develop into true
champions. Please excuse me for not remembering the names of many other Quebec
mogul skiers who were regulars on the WC podiums.
At the 1998 Nationals at Fortress while working as Chief of moguls, we even witnessed
what could be described as the birth of “new school skiing”, it would be the last time
Mike Douglas and his Canadian Development Team athletes from Quebec competed in
moguls. Not sure who it was… maybe JF, JP or Viny but it was one of them who busted
out a big triple upright on bottom air with a grab! Not sure how the judges scored that one
but it was jaw dropping…and a game changer for the sport of skiing. In this current era, I
was once again Chief of Moguls at the 2007 and ‘09 Jr. Nationals at Silverstar. A very
young but incredibly talented Mickal Kingbury dazzled us with a glimpse of what was to
come.
My competitive ski career and coaching path has only brought me to Quebec twice, first
in 1983 National Championships as a mogul skier and last years Jr’s at Le Relais in a
coaching role. Yet my respect for the success of the FQSA mogul program has been firm
for decades. I wish I knew how to speak French…because I would certainly want to have
worked in your province.
The Australian experience is, and has been very important and influential for me as I
develop both my coaching skills and work my trade as a site builder. I received my CFSA
Comp Dev Mogul certification from Michel Hamlin in 2012, which has served me very
well over the last couple of seasons. I have been directly involved with the Australian
mogul pathway since 2006, all of it at the club entry level (coaching) and building mogul
venues in Australia. My on snow duties have shifted to almost exclusively course
building and no longer have time to coach at Thredbo. This is one reason we (Thredbo)
desires to hire a mogul coach that is committed to his or her profession.
Some of the great advantages to considering this job offer are, the short time
commitment…about 12 weeks during the Canadian summer. Skiing and coaching with
young kids on very good training venues, a full calendar of mogul events to attend…all in
a very unique and special place in the world of skiing!
I am hoping that there might be an available club coach from Quebec who would
consider this opportunity. Better yet… if there are some young athletes under the
guidance of this coach or club, they too could come down for the month of August to join
us all for a great month of training and events.
On the topic of language, this candidate must be able to speak conversational English,
certainly not perfect but at a level that basic communication between athlete and coach
can be attained. There are many Europeans in our ski school who work just fine with a
basic grasp of spoken and written English.
I thank you for your consideration…our desire to find a mogul coach from FQSA is not
intended to steal anyone away from you… but rather “have access” to them for a short
period of time during the Canadian summer.
In return we can provide a very good working environment where this potential
candidate can further improve his or her’s coaching skills with quality hours of work on
beautifully prepared mogul venues.
Please forward any interested applicants to: [email protected]
Thredbo Snowsports GM.
Sincerely
Mike Haid
[email protected]
403-714-3114 (Alberta)