Congrats To Bud Keene USOC Coach of the Year

[gburgess]

For those of you who are not familiar with Bud Keene, he was the 2006 Olympic U.S. Snowboarding Halfpipe Head Coach.

Granted this is a site focused on Alpine style riding, but I think Bud getting the USOC Coach of the Year award is important to everyone who loves snowboarding.

In the PR that can be found at: http://www.nessg.com/coachofyear06.shtml

Bud says, "'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.'"

I met Bud earlier this year while racing at a USASA Northern Vermont Giant Slalom event at Stowe. Here's a guy who less than a year earlier was working with big names like Shaune White... at the Olympics. A year later, he's at Stowe helping to set up a USASA GS course, and later awarded us our medals. Bud was very down to earth and approachable. Seemed like a great guy.

Guys like Bud Keene is what has helped move our sport along so quickly. The former Olympic HP Head Coach did not have to be out there with a bunch of kids and old guys on a very cold winters day. He did not have to stick around to personally put medals around our necks--but he did.

I'm not friends with the guy. I only met him that one time. But I was impressed--not by the fact that he was the former Olympic HP Head Coach, but that the former Olympic HP Head Coach loved the sport enough to do whatever he could do to help advance it--even if it meant hanging out with amateur Alpine racers on a cold winter day.

Congrats to Bud Keene the 2006 USOC Coach of the Year and to all the other folks who give of their time to help kids and yes even some of us old guys advance our skills in the sport we love!