Morin leaves U.S. Ski Team; Rearick promoted

Mike Morin, U.S. men’s slalom and giant slalom head coach since the 2004 season and a U.S. coach for nearly 10 years, has resigned and will be replaced by Sasha Rearick, the ski team announced.
    Morin is leaving to become alpine director at Vermont’s Stratton Mountain School, where he coached in the mid-nineties, U.S. Alpine Director Jesse Hunt said. “It’s a big loss for us with Mike leaving, but Sasha’s shown he has the ability, the leadership qualities, and everything we want in our coaches and certainly our head coaches,” Hunt said. “And the continuity factor is important, too, because Sasha’s dealt with so many of these athletes over the last couple of years.”
    “I’m excited about this opportunity,” Rearick said. “I’ve coached many of these guys at different levels and I’m pretty comfortable with all of them.”
    Rearick, 31, born in New York City but raised in Lakeville, Connecticut, is a graduate of Western State in Colorado, where he had a double major, business and kinesiology. He credits former U.S. coach Tim Lavellee at Gould Academy in Maine with getting him started in coaching; while in college, Rearick started coaching at Monarch Ski Area in Colorado and spent a winter ski instructing for the famed ESF (French Ski School) in Tignes, France.

MIKE MORIN, U.S. men’s slalom and giant slalom head coach since the 2004 season and a U.S. coach for nearly 10 years, has resigned and will be replaced by Sasha Rearick, the ski team announced.
    Morin is leaving to become alpine director at Vermont’s Stratton Mountain School, where he coached in the mid-nineties, U.S. Alpine Director Jesse Hunt said. “It’s a big loss for us with Mike leaving, but Sasha’s shown he has the ability, the leadership qualities, and everything we want in our coaches and certainly our head coaches,” Hunt said. “And the continuity factor is important, too, because Sasha’s dealt with so many of these athletes over the last couple of years.”
    “I’m excited about this opportunity,” Rearick said. “I’ve coached many of these guys at different levels and I’m pretty comfortable with all of them.”
    Rearick, 31, born in New York City but raised in Lakeville, Connecticut, is a graduate of Western State in Colorado, where he had a double major, business and kinesiology. He credits former U.S. coach Tim Lavellee at Gould Academy in Maine with getting him started in coaching; while in college, Rearick started coaching at Monarch Ski Area in Colorado and spent a winter ski instructing for the famed ESF (French Ski School) in Tignes, France.
    After graduating from Western State, where he was an assistant alpine coach his last two years, he coached for three years at Vermont’s Green Mountain Valley School before joining the U.S. Ski Team coaching staff after the 2002 Olympics. He has coached at both the World Cup and Europa Cup levels, serving as the men’s Europa Cup head coach for the past two seasons.
    Rearick and his wife, Katrin, who is a member of the U.S. women’s coaching staff, live in Park City. 


    “Mike’s got a great opportunity at Stratton and we wish him all the best,” Hunt said. “The good part of that, for us, is that he’s staying in coaching. That’s an asset for us and he’ll continue to play a role in developing top young skiers, in getting athletes into our system. We’re sad to see him leave, but we wish him all the best.”


    Morin said he also had mixed emotions about leaving the ski team, but getting to spend more time with wife, Meredith, and their two children while returning to lead Stratton’s alpine program is a big benefit. “I’ve worked with some great coaches and outstanding athletes, and having seen everything with the ski team, from the development level to the World Cup. I’ve got a lot of ideas. This is a tremendous opportunity for us.”