Towlerton joins Aspen as head ability coach

Aspen Valley Ski Club has hired Kent Towlerton as the club’s alpine head ability coach. A two-time USSA Alpine Coach of the Year award winner, Towlerton had the credentials that Alpine Program Director Jeff Kai sought.
ASPEN VALLEY SKI CLUB has hired Kent Towlerton as the club’s alpine head ability coach. A two-time USSA Alpine Coach of the Year award winner, Towlerton had the credentials that Alpine Program Director Jeff Kai sought.
    “Kent brings experience and knowledge to the club that we’ve been looking for,” Kai said. Towlerton’s résumé includes stints as a U.S. Ski Team Europa Cup coach in the early 1990s and a collegiate coach at the University of Wyoming, where he led the team to a national championship in 1985. Towlerton was a USSA regional coach for the Western Region until 1996 and served the past 11 seasons as the director of the Mount Bachelor Ski Education Foundation in Bend, Oregon.
    “Kent has placed four athletes on the U.S. Ski Team from his program at Mount Bachelor, and three are still in uniform for the team,” Kai said. “We’re lucky to have him join us. He’ll be a mentor for the rest of the staff as well as a great leader on the hill.”
    In discussing his coaching philosophy, Towlerton stated that for him, “consistency is key if you want to build a successful program.” He added, “I’m in it for the kids and I’m excited to come to Aspen and help Jeff develop the program to it’s full potential. AVSC’s got some great young athletes and I’m looking forward to crafting a game plan and building a solid foundation for them. I love what I do and it makes my whole month seeing an athlete I’ve been coaching make a breakthrough and improve.”
    When he’s not on the hill, Towlerton is a sculptor. His medium is stone and he is excited about moving to the Roaring Fork Valley because of the excellent stone available here. “I used to take trips to Marble to get stone,” he said. “Being in the area means more raw materials, and hopefully I’ll be able to show some of my work locally.”
    Benjamin Black, AVSC’s head ability coach last season, recently accepted a job coaching with the U.S. Ski Team. “Ben got a great opportunity to gain experience and work with some elite-level athletes,” Kai said. “We wish him all the best and hope he can return to us some day to share his knowledge.”