NENSA is celebrating our 30th anniversary in 2025. As part of the occasion, we’re gathering reflections from skiers across New England on the people, moments, and values which have defined the NENSA community. This week, we are featuring SMS-t2 Head Coach, Colin Rodgers.
Your connections to NENSA and years involved.
Colin Rodgers (CR): I can honestly say that I have been involved with NENSA my entire life!
I was born in Burlington and raised in NW VT- Westford! My parents, Dale and Peggy, helped organize the NWVT BKL program while my brother Chris and I grew up in Chittenden County. We skied A LOT out our back door in Westford, at the local Westford Elementary School Trails, at Catamount Family Ctr, Smuggler’s Notch XC Ski Touring Ctr and the Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho. My dad helped to lead the US Biathlon program from 1984-88 so I literally grew up on skis and was around amazing athletes when I was quite young. I have simply, always, loved to ski!
In high school I raced for Essex High School and at Holderness School in Plymouth, NH. During those years I was able to represent New England at the Jr National Ski Championships and went on to race internationally as a Jr and U23 at U18 Scandinavian Jr Championships in Sundsvall, SWE (1999), Szklarska poreba, POL (2001) and Soldier Hollow, UT (2004).
From 2000-04 I was a panther at Middlebury College and then skied post collegiately at Maine Winter Sports Ctr 2004-06 and for the Sun Valley Ski Ed Foundation Gold Team 2006-2011.
In the spring of 2011 I turned 30 years old and although I loved competing and had ~15 World Cup starts in North America and Scandinavia, I came to the realization that I needed to be faster… way faster, if I wanted to reach my international goals so… instead of continuing to race myself I poured all of my efforts into coaching the Gold Team. I pushed hard coaching in Sun Valley, and we had some great athletes come through the program like Morgan Arritola, Simi Hamilton, Miles Havlick, Matt Gelso, Kevin Bolger and Mikey Sinnott just to name a few. In 2016, I was excited by a challenge to come back to VT and coach Juniors at the Green Mountain Valley School in Waitsfield, VT and it became a new era for me. Coaching at the high school level was so much more about growing good kids who learn about life through dedication to sport. The ultimate goal was to teach a lifestyle that was going to take them far on down the road. In the process we churned out some fast skiers along the way and I am proud of all of the work and fun we had at GMVS!
This past spring I took a leap, and decided to get back to coaching some of our top Sr athletes heading into Milan-Cortina 2026! It has been an inspiration to now be helping lead the SMS-t2 program out of Stratton Mtn, VT and I feel so fortunate for all of the learning opportunities ahead.
What has skiing in New England meant to your life or your community? What does it mean to you to be a cross-country skier from New England?
CR: I have a lot of pride in being from Vermont/New England AND in representing the USA when we go overseas. When I was younger, I used to think we were always chasing the competition and playing catch up. As a XC ski nation we were “spinning our wheels” and not moving forward. In truth, for a long time, that was the case. Now however, we are doing a lot that is absolutely correct! We see it culturally and we see it in the results.
Recently, I have even found myself being asked by respected Norwegian and Italian coaches, “So what do you do in Vermont/ the USA?” It feels pretty cool to be asked that question!
In my mind, so much of our success stems from generational knowledge. Whether you are from New England, Alaska, Montana or Norway there are athletes/coaches that are excellent at their craft. They have found things that have worked well and also not afraid to investigate new ideas. What stands out about New England skiing is that we have always been great at taking the time to pass that transformational knowledge along. Although it’s not always easy, we make time to collaborate as different states and that pushes the region forward as a whole. Continuity is also a priority and that is key to flowing in the correct direction.
Tradition runs deep in New England!
Can you share a moment that embodies the spirit of New England skiing?
CR: Helping New England to win the Jr National Championships for many years has always given me a sense of pride. It was fun to win when I was a Jr and it has been fun to win as Team New England over many years while coaching at Green Mtn Valley School.
In all truth though, it is encouraging to see the other regions getting stronger and more competitive. Intermountain and Alaska have both been knocking on the door the past several years and I like that because it is forcing us to work harder AND smarter to be better.
This is a good problem for NE and for the future of US Cross Country Skiing in the USA. It will make us better while eyeing 2034 in Salt Lake!
What does NENSA mean to you?
CR: The New England Nordic Skiing Association is a community of dedicated winter enthusiasts that value the lifelong tradition of Cross Country skiing as more than just racing, but rather a lifestyle.
