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.
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Josh Ganz | Comp Team Head Coachjganz@teamavsc.org
Josh has been in the Valley for over a decade and a half and has been with AVSC for about as long as most of his team has been alive. During his tenure he has coached all ages and abilities. He is fully certified through AASI and supplemented that with Freestyle and Children's Specialist certifications while also being a Level 200 Coach through USASA/USSA. When he's not on snow with AVSC or for himself he is also helping coach Aspen Skiing Company instructors as a ratified Trainer. No stranger to performance and competition, prior to moving to the RFV he was a sponsored inline skater. As such, his teenage years through to his early 20's he could be found travelling and competing all over the North American Continent. He supplemented contest winnings through Woodward East as an Inline Coach and Program Director. While living at Woodward East he was one of the select few that helped with materials testing and design of the first winter sports facility, Woodward @ Copper.
When not on snow you can find Josh attending the PitCo Libraries Books & Brews Club, skating with his friends, up the Pass climbing and camping, biking in Sky Mountain Park, and recently getting into rafting with friends and colleagues. He also enjoys playing live music across the region in the band Discolored Perception.
He feels grateful to help nurture the valley's youth, helping them grow and learn while instilling critical thinking skills and empathy alongside the on-snow technical skills, helping his athletes become successful on and off the mountain, during time with, and beyond AVSC.