Coaches
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Nichole Mason | Snowboard Program DirectorNichole spent 5 years running our elite level snowboard team where she had the pleasure of working with several high level athletes in both halfpipe and slopestyle. One of those riders, Chris Corning, was nominated straight to the US Pro team, skipping the development team all together. He was the first athlete to qualify for the PyeongChang Olympic team at the age of 17. This caught the attention of US Ski & Snowboard and they started to give Nichole opportunities at several Junior World Championships and development camps. After several years of developing a working relationship, they asked her to apply for the Rookie halfpipe position. She did so and received the job offer. However, at this point in time, she had a program full of committed athletes she wanted to see through and didn’t feel like it was an appropriate time to make the switch. She respectfully declined the position and put another season of learning from her mentor under her belt. At the end of that season, the US team asked her to apply for the Rookie Slopestyle job becoming the first female in the role as a National Team Coach.
In 2017, Nichole was nominated by her peers for both Development and Domestic Coach of the year from US Ski & Snowboard. Only a handful of people have been nominated and chosen for both. In 2020 Nichole was the first ever female to receive international Coach of the Year and the second female to be awarded with Overall Coach of the Year.
During her time with the US team, Nichole has graduated five riders and counting to the pro team, attended a Women in Leadership conference in Norway, graduated from the Coach Accelerator Program through the United States Olympic Committee, and started up all female athlete camps as well as all female coach clinics. She is very involved with the coach education system as the lead coach developer for certifications across the country. Nichole is always looking to further her professional development and give back to the community in any way she can.
Josh Ganz | Comp Team Head Coachjganz@teamavsc.org
Josh started his competitive career as a competitive inline skater, but his passion for snowboarding brought him to Colorado from Louisville, KY. Josh is excited to return to AVSC for his 13th season of coaching. He appreciates the opportunity to grow with the community and its children and finds it rewarding in a way he's yet to experience in any other job. Josh has his AASI Full Certification (1,2,&3), is a Freestyle & Children's Specialist, and is a USASA Level 200 coach. When he's not with his AVSC athletes, you can find Josh reading, skating, climbing, biking, hiking, and playing or listening to live music.