Mt. Hood hires former US Ski Team coach as program director

PORTLAND, Ore. – Seth McCadam, a former Olympic and U.S. Ski Team coach, will take over as the program director of Mount Hood Ski Education Foundation (MHSEF) in Government Camp, Ore. McCadam has coached ski racing for over 20 years, most recently as head U16 coach and director of alpine athlete development at Sugar Bowl Academy in Truckee, Calif.

“Having someone with Seth’s knowledge and expertise running the program is really exciting for ski racing on Mt. Hood and around the Northwest. He will definitely strengthen the legacy of MHSEF for future ski racing generations,” said Bill Gunesch, former program director.

McCadam will join an organization that Bill and Mary Gunesch have directed for over 30 years. Bill now serves as the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association’s Western Region Development Director. Mary continues to lead the foundation’s school and academic programs.

MHSEF has partnered with two Mt. Hood ski resorts, Mt. Hood Skibowl and Timberline, since 1964, to offer Mt. Hood Race Team and then later, Mt. Hood Academy – an accredited, winter-term, live-in school. For more than 30 years, MHSEF has successfully helped hundreds of youth excel in ski racing and academics.

“We are a smaller ski academy and have a very close, family atmosphere within the team. We have a long history of successfully developing students and athletes and we welcome Seth to our family,” said Jason Spadaro, MHSEF board president.

McCadam’s impressive resume includes eight years coaching at the Jackson Hole Ski Club, including his last role as Alpine Director. He was hired by the U.S. Ski Team in 2005 and spent nine years working with World Cup, Europa Cup, and the last four of those years as head coach for the women’s development team. At the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, McCadam served as a slalom and giant slalom coach for Team USA.

“I’m excited to work with athletes on Mt. Hood – it’s the only place in the U.S. with year-round skiing. Knowing I’m coming into such a respected program makes this transition much easier and coming back to our home in Hood River was an opportunity we really couldn’t pass up,” McCadam said.

While McCadam traveled seasonally with the U.S. Ski Team from 2004 to 2014, he and his wife Karen lived in Hood River, Ore. They moved to Truckee, Calif., in 2014 and will now return to Hood River full-time for McCadam to be with MHSEF. With more than 20 years of coaching and directing experience with some of skiing’s most elite and accomplished athletes, all MHSEF members are sure to benefit from McCadam’s presence.

Release courtesy of MHSEF