The NENSA Coach of the Year Award is given annually to honor a NENSA coach for their achievements and contributions in working with athletes, in support of NENSA’s mission to sustain a vibrant and active Nordic skiing community in New England. This year, we’re excited to share that Rick Costanza of the Craftsbury Ski Club is NENSA’s 2026 Coach of of the Year!
Rick has had a lengthy and accomplished career in skiing and biathlon spanning over 40 years. His lifelong passion for the sport ignited when he was first introduced to cross country skiing at SUNY Cobleskill in the late 1970s. Following a move to Lake Placid in the 1984, Rick got into biathlon and earned a spot on the US National Team for Summer Biathlon competing in the Summer World Biathlon Championships in 1996 and 1998. After his daughter was born, Rick began his coaching career with NYSEF and started refereeing biathlon.
In 2011, Rick and his family moved across the lake to Vermont where he coached with the Mansfield Nordic Club (MNC), and therefore deserves some of the recognition for them winning NENSA Club of the Year!
In 2017, Rick was recruited to help coach youth skier and masters in Craftsbury where he has continued coaching through his retirement this past winter. In addition to coaching, Rick has also been involved with cross country and biathlon events all around the country, including serving as Chief of Stadium for biathlon World Cups.
As a coach, Rick is multi-talented and flexible, bringing a wealth of experience and a balanced perspective to his role. “Rick is a talented jack-of-all-trades and beloved coach who can jump in to work with athletes at any level, test skis, groom trails, fix broken rifles or head up the course preparation team at world cups. He has been a tremendous mentor for me over the past several years in coaching, race organizing, and officiating. The thing I appreciate most is how he always emphasizes keeping practices fun for the athletes. He’s eternally positive, outworks everyone I know, and is still very fast and hard to keep up with in a dodgeball game”, shared his colleague and Biathlon Director at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, Susan Dunklee.
Craftsbury Nordic Race Director, Ollie Burruss, shared similar sentiments to Susan saying, “Rick is the consummate “renaissance coach.” He is capable of coaching any age group in any technique (including biathlon!) and help his athletes improve something. His mood is always chipper and he appears to be indefatigable (and trust us, we’ve tried to tire him out). It is so rare to find someone so good natured and so free of any sort of ego – he truly just wants to help make athletes (and other coaches) better at the sport that we all love.”
While Rick brings considerable technical knowledge, skill, and know how to coaching, he also has the soft skills to impart that knowledge and support athletes in ways that ensure everyone feels included and has a fun and connective experience at practice and races. Rick is a master at creating a safe and welcoming environment where athletes can challenges themselves to grow as skiers and people.
“Rick is the kind of coach that if you are doing something wrong he will help you, but not until he’s made a funny joke to make you feel better. He is always helping other coaches and kids. If you are confused about something you can always go to Rick for him to put it into simpler terms. He loves coaching everyone no matter your age. He loves to help host races and you can find him on the side of the trail cheering you on or helping make sure that the race runs smoothly”, said Craftsbury Ski Club athlete, Pippa Abbene.
Hadley Abbene echoed Pippa’s reflections sharing that, “Rick has coached me for four years, throughout those years he has joked, given advice, and made opportunities happen for me, with skiing and without, Rick has not only helped me improve being an athlete, but also has found opportunities for me to research other things I am interested in. Rick has helped me and the whole team through hard times, like super hot practice days that need extra encouragement. He is such a fun person to be around, he always makes the team laugh, he is always up for everything, and overall such an amazing person to have as a coach.”
Rick adjusts his coaching style to meet athletes where they’re at, and pushes athletes to be their best selves while bringing smiles to their faces.
Craftsbury athlete, Lillian Suddaby, shared, “He [Rick] has been such an incredible coach to everyone on our team. Whether it is after a race or during a workout, he is always able to put a smile on everyone’s faces, by simply making a joke or just being there and willing to talk to anyone. He is always supportive and inclusive of everyone, no matter who they are, if they are a Craftsbury member or not, and somehow seems to know everyone everywhere we go. Rick has taught our team to be humble and still respect our own abilities, to be kind to everyone, no matter who they are, and has given us connections to people we never would have thought possible, had we not been coached by him. He always pushes everyone to be the best that they can be and also seems to know how to make everyone smile at any given moment. Even if he can’t make it out on course during a race, we always know that he is cheering for us, either from a wax cabin, a coaches box on the biathlon range, or wherever else he might be.”
At the conclusion of the 2025-26 winter season, Rick made the decision to retire from full-time coaching. He will be sorely missed but we’re optimistic we’ll still see him around the ski community. “We have been so lucky to have Rick in our program and we are sad to see him begin his transition away from full-time coaching. He’ll leave a hole that will take more than one person to fill, but everyone in the Craftsbury ski community (not to mention the Mansfield ski community and the Adirondack ski community) is better for having met and worked with Rick,” shared Ollie.
Please join us in recognizing and thanking Rick for the immeasurable impact he has had on the ski community!
