Two Bow Valley natives with long ties to their sports have earned prestigious coaching duties with the national alpine and biathlon programs.
Alpine Canada chose Banff’s Pete Bosinger to head up the men’s ski team, while Biathlon Canada picked Canmore’s Roddy Ward to join its coaching staff.
Ward was named as an assistant coach after a successful career start with Canmore Nordic, while former Olympian Bosinger takes over from Paul Kristofic, who was moved to a vice-president position.
“I’ve been with Canmore Nordic for six seasons. It’s hard to move on, but I’m definitely excited,” Ward said.
Ward, 30, will be in charge of the ‘B’ team athletes, while head coach Mathias Ahrens will continue to work with the ‘A’ team athletes.
“As a coach, I try to work hard and keep an eye out for details that can improve athlete performance. Working with Mathias, we can do that for each other,” Ward said.
He filled in as an assistant coach this past season and has a strong rapport with the national team.
“I’ve worked with every single athlete in the past and definitely feel like I contributed. I have a lot of confidence going in, identifying areas where I can make improvements with these guys.”
Ward grew up in Canmore and competed in university games as a biathlete. He began coaching at the University of Augustana and later joined Canmore Nordic.
“I tried it for six months and absolutely found my passion,” Ward said. “It’s a really good feeling of service to others. For me, that’s what does it. It’s a very unselfish pursuit. When you work hard with an athlete and they see improvement, that’s super motivating.”
He praised Canmore Nordic for believing in his talents.
“I’m really thankful to Canmore Nordic for the past six years. They’ve been really good to me, helping me progress in a club. Without that setup, I would not be where I am. It’s been an education-filled six years,” Ward said
Bosinger, 47, competed in the 1988 Winter Games and began working with the men’s alpine team in 1993. After a stint as the team’s head speed coach, he joined the U.S. program to work with the likes of Bode Miller. He was also sports manager of alpine skiing for the Vancouver Organizing Committee at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
“I’m honoured to have the opportunity to accept this position,” said Bosinger, who spent last season working with the men’s technical team. “The team is in a great place right now, with great leadership at all levels.
“We’ve got world championships and an Olympic Games coming up and a team with great depth that can perform at the highest level. We’ve also got some young talent coming up that certainly will be moving up to the World Cup and hopefully challenging for Olympic and world championship spots in the next two years.”
