PARK CITY, UT (Oct. 5, 2015) – After five years as the head slopestyle coach for the U.S. Snowboarding team, Bill Enos is set to resign from his coaching role. Enos led the slopestyle team to numerous World Cup wins, X Games medals and most notably coached Sage Kotsenburg (Park City, UT) and Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, CA) on their way to making history at the 2014 Olympic games in Sochi, both walking away with gold medals in snowboarding slopestyle’s Olympic debut.
Enos was an instrumental part of Kotsenburg’s success and appreciation of the sport. “He taught me so much about snowboarding,” Kotsenburg said. “Mainly that snowboarding at the end of the day is just snowboarding, not take it too seriously and not to take snowboarding for granted. That was one of the key things I learned from him and I actually put into my riding.”
The perspective and experience Enos bestowed upon the athletes on U.S. Snowboarding was deep and filled with history. That’s because Enos has spent the better half of his life on a snowboard. He cut his teeth on the icy east coast hills of New Hampshire, competing in the pre-Olympic era of snowboard racing in the late 1980s. He captured ISF and FIS World Cup wins and was a member of the first-ever U.S. Snowboard Team in 1994. He competed as a member of the U.S. Snowboard Team from 1994-99 and narrowly missed making the 1998 Olympic team for giant slalom.
Bill Enos holds a flag at the U.S. Olympic team announcement at the Mammoth Mountain Grand Prix in 2014. (Getty Images-Harry How)
Upon retiring from competition, Enos translated his competitive skills to coaching skills and headed back to New Hampshire. He started the BBTS snowboarding program at Waterville Valley and became Snowboard Program Director at the acclaimed Waterville Valley Academy. There he helped cultivate young slopestyle talent, turning them from groms to Olympians. Snowboarding legend Chas Guldemond (Reno, NV) came through Waterville Valley Academy and worked his way all the way to the Olympics with Enos as his coach.
In his five years coaching U.S. Snowboarding, Enos not only helped progress athletes’ riding but the slopestyle program itself, setting up future teams for success.
“Bill was a key player in the slopestyle program, not just with the athletes. He help shape the rookie team, enlisted new coaches and was the vision behind the videographer program that’s in place for this winter season,” said U.S. Snowboarding and U.S. Freeskiing Program Director Jeremy Forster. “Bill was an amazing part of the team on and off the hill and we’ll miss him.”
HIGHLIGHTS
- After five years as head slopestyle coach for U.S. Snowboarding, Bill Enos is set to resign from his coaching role.
- Enos coached the first U.S. Olympic slopestyle team in 2014 where Jamie Anderson (South Lake Tahoe, CA) and Sage Kotsenburg (Park City, UT) both brought home Olympic gold.
- Bill Enos was an instrumental part of expanding the slopestyle program for U.S. Snowboarding, enlisting rookie coaches and spearheading the videographer program for 2015.
QUOTES
Bill Enos, Retiring Head Slopestyle Coach
I’d like to thank U.S. Snowboarding for the amazing opportunity I had these past five seasons. I was able to work with some of the best riders and people in the world. I am now lucky enough to call them my family and I will miss them dearly. I’ve also had the chance to become part of a large international family of coaches and riders and I will forever cherish the friendships I made. You have all become a huge part of my life.
It starts with a notion. With practice it's put into motion then extends down a long road of devotion.
Sage Kotsenburg, 2014 Olympic Gold Medalist
Having Bill as my first real coach was so cool, because he has a really awesome outlook on snowboarding and some deep roots in the sport. It was really cool and we worked really well together. He taught me so much about snowboarding—mainly that snowboarding at the end of the day is snowboarding and it’s rad that we get to do it. He taught me never to take that for granted and that was one of the key things I learned from him—actually putting that into my riding. You can really tell when someone loves a sport, when they thrive on it, and he has that. He brought that passion to the kids he coached. He still loves snowboarding so much; it’s the most fun thing ever to ride with him.
Jeremy Forster, U.S. Snowboarding and Freeskiing Program Director
Bill was a key player in the slopestyle program, not just with the athletes. He helped shape the rookie team, enlisting new coaches along and was the vision behind the videographer program that’s in place for this winter season. Bill was an amazing part of the team on and off the hill and we’re going to miss him.
Eric Beauchemin, 2015 U.S. Grand Prix Slopestyle Winner, Mammoth Mountain, CA
Everyone on the team has a special bond with Bill. He’s more than just a coach—he was a life mentor and he taught us lessons that I’ll be able to use for the rest of my life, both technical stuff and life stuff. He noticed the little things in our riding that made a big difference and made you realize that snowboarding is more than just competing—that we shouldn’t put the all this pressure on a contest, but focus more on having fun.
Bill has influenced everyone on the mountain. He touches everyone he talks to and inspires everyone from coaches to riders. If he doesn’t know you, he’ll get to know you. The global snowboarding community is super important to Bill and he has talked to everyone out there. He’s a legend.
Ty Walker, 2014 FIS World Cup Big Air Winner, Istanbul, Turkey
When I first started working with Bill, I was overly serious about being on the hill, always working on stuff, never trying to be creative. Bill really helped me lighten up. He’s all fun all the time and he instilled in us how important it is to be creative and find you‘re own style. He had a way with his riders. He really made the team a family on and off the mountain.
