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Veteran Coach Phil McNichol Retires
PARK CITY, Utah (March 19) - Veteran U.S. Alpine Ski Team Men's Head Coach Phil McNichol is leaving the Team after 11 seasons that saw some of the best results in history, according to Alpine Director Jesse Hunt. The announcement came at the close of the Audi FIS World Cup where U.S. skiers won a record five titles.
"Phil has done an unbelievable job with the U.S. Ski Team. The World Cup results we've had in the last six years under his leadership are significant," said Hunt. "We're disappointed to see Phil leave, but I also understand his wish to spend more time with his family. As an American team that competes primarily in Europe, it's a tough task and Phil has shown great perseverance for many years. And he's developed a program that can carry on the tradition of athletic success."
Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) highlighted the season for the U.S. Ski Team, winning the World Cup GS title. Marco Sullivan (Squaw Valley, CA) picked up his first career win, taking the prestigious Kandahar downhill in Chamonix. Steven Nyman (Provo, UT), a winner a year ago, was on the podium again, as was veteran Scott Macartney (Crystal Mountain, WA).
McNichol worked as a club coach in both the Ski Club Vail and Park City programs before coming to the Team in 1997. He worked his way through the development and Europa Cup teams before taking over as head coach in 2002-03. Since then he's worked with many great athletes including Daron Rahlves, Bode Miller and Ted Ligety.
I'm proud of what we've done with the Team since '03, giving Bode and Daron with the platform to perform," said McNichol. "And with Ted, we've developed a champion from scratch. You could see this year, through consistency and ability to handle pressure, that now he'll be able to branch out to other events and challenge for the overall. And he's got a great team behind him with Sully, Jimmy and others.
"It's a real big challenge to get where we are now. I'm quite proud!"
McNichols' tenure as head coach produced some notable results with World Cup wins from Ligety, Miller, Nyman, Rahlves, and Sullivan, plus countless other podiums. At the 2003 World Championships in St. Moritz, Miller and Erik Schlopy (Park City, UT) won gold and bronze, with Miller also taking combined gold and super G silver. In 2004 Miller took the World Cup GS title - the first for an American man in 20 years - and claimed the overall in 2005. Miller swept the speed events at the 2005 World Championships in Bormio. In Torino, Ligety stunned the world with the combined gold.
"It's good to leave when the guys are doing well and the team is in a good place," McNichol said. "The whole organization is moving in the right direction. I wanted to leave it better than when I started."
Hunt expects to name a replacement for McNichol shortly to lead the Team into the 2008-09 pre-Olympic season.
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Veteran Coach Phil McNichol Retires
