Coaches and Staff
Executive Director -
Mike LeBlanc
Michael LeBlanc is entering his fifth season as the Executive Director of the Mount Washington Valley Ski Team. Before joining MWVST, Mike spent the last 12 years as the Head Coach for men’s and women’s varsity skiing at Brown University. Mike’s track record at Brown University has consistently produced a team with one of the highest GPA’s in the athletic department, while also competing for a national championship on a yearly basis. In addition to his traditional coaching responsibilities, he also has been responsible for recruiting athletes, fundraising, and hosting FIS and USSA races. Mike also was elected by his coaching peers to serve as chair of the McConnell Division of USCSA college ski racing, which organizes and hosts the highly competitive division races at several ski areas. Prior to Brown, he had coaching stints at UMass and the Diamond Peak Ski Education Foundation in Nevada. As the Assistant Program Director and Alpine Ski Coach at the Diamond Peak Ski Education Foundation, Mike worked with the Junior I, II, and III programs, developing athletes from age 13-21. Before heading to the Nevada-based Foundation, LeBlanc served as the Men’s and Women’s Alpine Ski Coach at UMass from January of 2001 to May of 2003. While at UMass, LeBlanc was instrumental in guiding the women’s team to an Eastern Championship and a National Championship, the first National Championship season for the school. In addition, he guided the men’s team to a second place finish at the Eastern Championship, and a seventh place finish in the national standings. Combined, LeBlanc coached 13 All-America selections at the 2003 USCSA National Championships. Mike is a 2000 graduate of Plymouth State University with a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies – Outdoor Experiential Education/Health Education. Mike also completed his M.ED. in Higher Education Administration at UMass. As an athlete he competed on the Varsity Ski Team at the University of New Hampshire from 1997-1998 and on the Varsity Ski Team at Plymouth State from 1999-2000. He grew up in Plymouth, NH and raced as a junior at Waterville Valley.
Program Director/Head U16 Coach -
Leanne Smith
Leanne Smith, North Conway native, joins her home club, MWVST, after a lengthy World Cup career and ten-year stint on the U.S. Ski Team.
Smith started out ski racing at Cranmore Mountain in the mid 1990s. The Cranmore Race Team helped develop her skills and love for the sport that only continued to grow. By 14, Smith was a top ranked junior skier in the U.S. and joined the Mount Washington Valley Ski Team with coach, Dave Gregory in 2003. Throughout high school, Leanne was a three sport varsity athlete at Kennett and that included skiing for her entire four years.
Upon graduation from Kennett, Smith enrolled into college at the University of New Hampshire. During that 2005/06 season, she skied on the UNH Division I NCAA team and recorded a win in the Giant Slalom at the Dartmouth Carnival. Naturally, the team’s focus was on the technical events (GS and SL), but Smith still found time to do some speed races at the NorAM and National level with the Eastern Regional Group.
During that spring of 2006, Smith received a call from the United States Development Team taking her as a discretionary pick for the upcoming 2007/08 season. From that point on, Smith improved tremendously. In the spring of 2008, Leanne won the Women’s Super G NorAM title as well as the Women’s Overall NorAM title. She attended the World Junior Championships in Altenmarkt/Zauchensee, Austria, and after a pretty successful Development Team year she found herself Ski Racing Junior of the Year. It was obvious that Smith’s direction would most likely head in the direction of speed (DH and SG). From there it was a World Cup spot that landed Leanne in Lake Louise, Canada, the following December of 2009. Smith impressively scored in her first World Cup Downhill and Super G there, with a 23rd and a 19th place, respectively.
She continued to gain experience on the World Cup and made her mark on the Europa Cup tour as well, with a Downhill win in Caspoggio, Italy. Over the next 6 years, Smith established herself to be one of the best speed skiers in the world.
She finished the 2012/13 season with overall rankings in the top 12 in both Downhill and Super G. That season was Smith’s best season to date, and it included two podium finishes on the World Cup tour. Her first podium in Val D’Isere, France was a 2nd place, and a month later she landed on the podium at her favorite stop on the tour, in Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy. She competed in two Olympic Games for the United States, first in Vancouver in 2010 and again in Sochi, Russia, in 2014. Injuries unfortunately are a byproduct of skiing at a high level and after two years away from competition, Smith made a comeback for the 2016/17 and struggled to regain form. With a successful career behind Leanne, she decided to return to her hometown and continue to enjoy the sport of ski racing, this time as a coach.
Notables:
EISA Skiing Rookie of the Year 2005/06
NorAM Super G Overall Champion 2007/08
NorAM Women’s Overall Champion 2007/08
Ski Racing Junior of the Year 2008
2010 Olympian (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
2010 U.S. National Downhill Champion
2011 World Championship Team (Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany)
2nd place World Cup Downhill (Val D’Isere, France in 2012)
3rd place World Cup Downhill (Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy in 2013)
2013 World Championship Team (Schladming, Austria)
2014 Olympian (Sochi, Russia)
22 Top 15 Finishes on World Cup
9 Top Ten Finishes on World Cup
Head U18/U21 Coach/Strength & Conditioning -
Richie Scanlon
Richie is a former MWVST & AAEF skier who spent the 2013-2017 ski seasons at the University of Connecticut where he earned a degree in Sociology. For two years, Richie served as the captain of the UCONN ski team, where he helped the Huskies to 4 straight USCSA National Championship appearances. While skiing for UCONN, he earned All-McConnell division honors and twice was named an Academic All-American at the USCSA Nationals. Richie brings a great deal of ski racing knowledge and experience to our club, with an excellent fundamental understanding of how MWVST operates having been a former club athlete. We are very happy to have him on board. After working with the U16s in the 2017/18 season, Richie will be working with the U18-U21/FIS athletes alongside Assistant Coach Patrick McDermott. He will also be in charge of designing and running our dryland and offseason training program. Richie is Alpine Level 100 Certified and has his ACE Personal Trainer Certification.
Assistant Coach -
Dave Gregory
Dave is a year round ski coach with more than 35 years of experience. He keeps abreast of the latest rules and regulations of the governing bodies—USSA, and FIS—while maintaining relationships with many national coaches and ski equipment manufacturers.
Dave has served on various committees in USSA/East including the Development Committee and the Alpine Coaches Council. Dave was named the 2005 NH Alpine Coach of the Year and he led the Mt Washington Valley Ski Team to the 2012 USSA Alpine Club of the Year award. He is the former Progam Director of the Mt Washington Valley Ski Team. Former Head Women’s Alpine Coach, Dartmouth College. Former Program Director, Holderness School. Former Assistant Head Coach SDSA Coronet Peak, New Zealand. USCSA and PSIA certified.
He has coached numerous athletes to the US Ski Team, including multiple NCAA and USCSA All-Americans. Dave is most proud of installing a lifelong passion for the sport of skiing in his athletes. Over 90% of his athletes have gone on to ski in college at some level.
U16 Assistant Coach -
Eddie Bradley
Ed Bradley’s impressive coaching resume dates back to 1978 here in the valley; he has been working with the Mount Washington Valley Ski Team for the last seven seasons.
First learning to ski at Landry’s Ski Slope in Windham, NH, Ed joined the Mount Whittier Race Team in Ossipee, NH, where his love for the sport grew quickly. Shortly thereafter, he joined the Cranmore Ski Educational Foundation in 78’. After graduating from Kennett High School, Ed began coaching at almost every mountain here in the area. He started with the Attitash Race Team in Bartlett, NH from 1983-84, coached at Black Mountain in 84’ & 85’ and was an instructor at the Attitash Ski School in 85’ & 86’.
In 1986, Ed took his skills to the US Pro Ski Tour for two years, then returned to his roots at Cranmore to coach the race team for the next twenty years, 1992-2012. His enthusiasm and commitment to Cranmore was recognized in February 2020 with his honorary induction into the Cranmore Snow Sports Hall of Fame.
Alongside Laurel Zengilowski, Ed Bradley also coaches for Kennett High School, where he was formerly a member of three State Championship teams. As a coach, Eddie has led the Kennett High School to countless championships and multiple runner up titles. He has also taken on the role as the NH State Team coach for Eastern High Schools, where the best high school athletes from the eastern region compete. Eddie has a “Spirit of Skiing” award named after him at Kennett High School, given to an athlete who has shown passion, dedication and commitment to the sport of skiing.
He is a tremendous leader who has coached the majority of the MWV and CRT staff you see here today. Ed has shaped his entire life around teaching generations of youngsters to ski and ski race, and continually conveys the important life lessons every athlete needs not only on the hill, but off of it as well.
In the off-season, you can find Ed at the North Conway Country Club, where he is an avid golfer and instructor, as well as the Head Coach for the KHS Golf Team.
Office Manager -
Martha Leich
Martha is the Office Manager for MWVST. Her role includes administration, bookkeeping, registration, fundraising, communication, race worker assignment, working at races, and the daunting task of trying to keep everyone informed!
Martha grew up coming to the valley to ski at Wildcat, her family are members at the Prospectors Ski Club. She continues to enjoy her long time role as a member of the Wildcat ski school staff , and met her husband Jeff while working there.
Martha joined the MWVST Staff in July 2007 when her son Alex joined the team, after graduating from the Wildcat program. Martha’s younger daughter Emily followed a year later.
Martha and Jeff live in North Conway, and Jeff is the Director of the New England Ski Museum.
Martha enjoys skiing, biking, hiking and running, and is involved with the Kennett High School Mountain Biking Program.
Both of Martha’s children are still avid skiers, and both got a lot more than racing skills from the program. Alex was the Volkl Marker Dalbello Eastern Race Rep and is now a grad student at Boston College, and Emily was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mongolia, and an Attitash Ski Patroller and is starting nursing school.
Media Director -
Maddie Glavin
Maddie grew up in the valley and is a former MWVST athlete. She attended Kennett High School, where she was a member of four State Championship teams, serving as captain her senior year and earning three individual state champion titles. While racing, she found success competing in the U16 Eastern Championships, Can-Ams and Eastern Devo FIS Series. Maddie has a strong passion for ski racing and wants to guide the growth of athletes confidence and ability so they too can pass their love of the sport onto the next generation. When she isn’t skiing, she enjoys hiking, taking photos and spending time in the gym. Maddie is Alpine Level 100 Certified.
Strength & Conditioning -
Carl Iacozili
Carl Iacozili hails from Northeast Ohio and grew up skiing in the Buffalo, NY area. Learning to ski at the age of 8 and racing with a local ski shop program in his high school years, his love for the sport of skiing and racing started early.
At the age of 19, Carl moved to CO to pursue a ski bum's dream, and some travels later landed in the MWV in 1998. Carl has spent most of his adult life involved with and coaching mountain sports. As a mountain athlete, Carl has competed in multiple XC Ski Ultra Marathons, 24 Hr. Mt. Bike Racing, road bike racing, local alpine racing leagues and a number of other events.
With a lifetime of passion for sports and conditioning and 20 yrs. coaching experience Carl is a certified Personal Trainer, Sports Performance Specialist, Twist Sports AQR coach and USSA Level 200 Alpine Race Coach.
Going into his 4th season working with MWV Ski Team as a strength and conditioning coach and U12 coach with Cranmore Race Team, Carl has started his own Sport Performance program, SportFit New England, working with fellow MWV FIS Coach Richie Scanlon.
Coach -
Sean Maloney
Sean grew up skiing in the valley through CRT and MWV; he then got drawn into ski jumping at age 15. He would go from race training during the day to ski jumping at night, and traveled around the country to compete. Earning himself trips to multiple national championship events as well and some international FIS cups. He returned to the valley to coach Cranmore athletes before joining MWV as a coach.
This is his third year on MWV, and Sean has experienced all aspects of competitive skiing. Sean wants to share his love of ski racing with all the athletes on MWV and help them love the sport as well. He is a supportive and influential coach that brings out the best in our racers.
Coach -
Kayla Morin
Kayla Morin is from Conway NH. She coached for Cranmore for six seasons. She is now coaching for MWVST. She is a former CRT and MWVST skier, and skied for the Kennett High School Ski Team.
Coach - Trevor Dodge
Coach - Jay Prewitt