Veteran coach Greg Needell dies at age 52

Veteran coach and former Ski Racing contributor, Greg Needell, died suddenly on June 7, 2016 at Mammoth Mountain following a medical emergency. 

Needell, who was in his early 50s, became a familiar face at U.S. ski races after spending decades as an athlete and coach. The Vermont native skied for Stratton Mountain School (SMS) before competing on the NCAA circuit at St. Lawrence University. After earning his degree, Needell returned to SMS to work for five years, serving as the head women’s coach as well as the head J2 men’s coach.

From there, he took his talents across the country, starting at Mission Ridge in Wenatchee, Washington, and eventually down to Mammoth Mountain in 1997. His gift for coaching juniors was noticed at the national level, and Needell was brought up to the U.S. Ski Team by then-head coach Phil McNichol.

As a men’s national team coach for eight years, he was part of the historic day when the U.S. Ski Team placed five men in the top 10 in a single World Cup race at Val Gardena.

“2,4,7,9,10 will always be something I remember,” he wrote of the day in December 2008. “Don’t forget, we were also 15 and 26 that day, too! Even though we didn’t have the winner that day, we all won because every single guy at the start scored World Cup points.”

From 2002-2009, Needell’s athletes combined for 43 wins, 105 podium finishes and 264 top-10 results. Most recently, he worked as alpine director and head coach of Team Summit Colorado (TSC), where he applied his extensive domestic and international experience on the club level yet again. He was at Mammoth Mountain for an early summer camp with the team when he suffered the medical emergency which led to his death. 

“Greg exhibited a truly amazing passion for the sport, touching the lives of many athletes and coaches across the country,” said USSA President and CEO Tiger Shaw. “His loss will be felt by many. Our thoughts and prayers are with Greg’s immediate family, his wife Shannon and son Coen, as well as Team Summit and all those who were touched by Greg.”

Outside of coaching, Needell brought the professional ski racing scene to life for readers in his regular, colorful column on SkiRacing.com called “The World Cup According to Grande” which ran from 2009 to the end of 2010. He continued to blog on his own website at AlpineRaceConsulting.com and as a contributor for Fantasy Ski Racer through World Cup Finals this past season.

A service for Needell will held June 13 at Clark Associates Funeral Home, 4 Woods Bridge Rd, Katonah, NY to be followed by a gathering at his parents’ home at 330 Stonehill Rd, Katonah, NY.

The Needell family invites all who wish to contribute to the service to send photographs, song suggestions and their memorable anecdotes about Greg. They also invite members of the ski racing community who plan to attend to contact them if they would like to speak about his love of the sport and the contributions he made to ski racing in the course of his long career. His sister, Claire, can be contacted by email Chollander13@gmail.com or phone 646-662-5256, and his brother, Jon, can be contacted by email jon@redwoodre.com or by phone 206 617-7998.

Finally, in lieu of flowers, the family asks that well-wishers make donations to Greg’s high school alma mater, the Stratton Mountain School, 7 World Cup Cir, South Londonderry, VT 05155. For those who cannot attend the service on June 13, the family will be holding a memorial ceremony at Stratton Mountain School later this year.