2023-24 Juniors Coaches
In addition to our staff Head Coach and Assistant Coaches, EMXC Juniors relies heavily on volunteer and parent coaching to keep practices and races running smoothly. If you are interested in coaching with EMXC Juniors, please email juniors@emxc.org.
 Head Coach and Program Director Chris grew up in Eastern Mass and learned to cross-country ski originally out of necessity to keep up with his very athletic family members. He quickly developed a love for the sport as an athlete in EMBK and CSU (now EMXC). He eventually represented Team New England at four Junior Nationals, skied for four years at Harvard, and raced at the 2014 NCAA Championships. He spent five years in California obtaining a PhD in computational neuroscience, while escaping to ski and run in the Sierras whenever he could justify the drive. Chris moved back East during the pandemic and has been highly involved with EMXC since 2021. |
 Assistant Coach and Program Coordinator Avery grew up in northern Vermont and began her skiing journey as part of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center junior program. Avery then raced for the Middlebury College nordic team, twice attending NCAA Championships. After graduation, Avery went into bike-mode, joining Little Bellas, a nonprofit mentoring on mountain bikes program in Vermont, and trying her hand in the Enduro bike-racing scene. During the winter of 2023, Avery spent a brief few weeks waxing with the Craftsbury Green Racing Project on the Super Tour circuit and realized how much she missed the skiing community! Now in the Boston area, Avery still manages to escape the city for bike races from time to time when she’s not coaching with EMXC. |
 Assistant Coach Meg learned to ski with CSU (now EMXC Juniors) after seeing her siblings having way more fun at cross country ski practice than she was having at swim practice. She graduated from the program in 2015 and went on to ski for Colby College under coach Tracey Cote. Meg returned to the Boston area and began coaching with EMXC Juniors in 2020. The ski track is Meg’s favorite place on Earth and she serves as a member of the Friends of Leo J. Martin Skiing (FOLJMS) board. Between practices and race weekends, you can find Meg pursuing her PhD in marine biogeochemistry at Boston College. |
 Heiner Baumann, Volunteer Coach Growing up in the mountains of Switzerland, Heiner learned to wax and ski from his father. He completed his initial marathon distance race at age 16 and earned his first Nordic ski instructor qualification at age 18. Off the snow, he professionally led for some time an international youth development program promoting international and cultural understanding. Coaching cross-country skiing in the Eastern Massachusetts Bill Koch League (EMXC Youth) since 2012, Heiner has been focusing on instilling in young athletes a deep passion for snow and Nordic skiing. When he’s not skiing, you can find him traversing glaciers and rock-climbing for crystals in the Swiss Alps. Heiner is a US Ski & Snowboard L200 certified Cross Country coach. |
 Dave Currie, Volunteer Coach Dave began racing at age 15 in high school and continued racing through college. His coaching career began with MIT for one year followed by many years with EMXC Youth, and now with EMXC Juniors. He still enjoys racing and hopes that he can help others achieve their goals in skiing and life. He is a US Ski & Snowboard L100 certified Cross Country coach. |
 Mark Doughty, Volunteer Coach Mark is a US Ski & Snowboard L200 Coach who has coached with EMXC Youth and EMXC Juniors and at Stratton Mountain School regional camps. Mark also serves on the Advisory Board of the SMS T2 Professional Ski Team. |
Evgeny Ivanov, Volunteer Coach Evgeny Ivanov grew up in Voronezh, Russia and learned to ski on wooden skis at a local orienteering club. He upgraded his equipment (but not so much his skiing technique) after moving to Moscow to study at Lomonosov Moscow State University (MGU). Evgeny competed for MGU orienteering team both in summer and in winter (Ski-O). After moving to the Boston area in 2013 his kids started skiing with EMBK (now EMXC Youth) and Evgeny signed up as a volunteer coach. When he’s not skiing he loves running with a map and compass in the woods. Evgeny is dedicated to promoting lifetime athleticism and enjoying outdoors activities with friends and family. |
 Barry Kitch, Volunteer Coach Barry Kitch comes to EMXC by way of EMBK, where he was a long time coach and, from 2011 until 2017, Club Director. He is a US Ski & Snowboard L200 certified cross country ski coach. Rather than on the ski trail, his origins in competitive sport were on the tennis court, and he competed into college. He’s been a lifelong athlete, having skied in his youth on the Southern Appalachian Mountains, as well as competing in soccer and cross country running. A month long Outward Bound trip through the Cascades of Oregon before college brought him to outdoor adventuring and exploration. He continued his adventures after moving to Boston 25 years ago and has been kayaking, sailing, and camping on the Maine Coast, and hiking and skiing the mountains and trails of New England, ever since. |
 Robert is a lifetime athlete and outdoor enthusiast. As a youth he played soccer for Princeton University and rowed crew for Oxford University. Highlights of those efforts include playing for the Connecticut State soccer team in junior national selection tournaments; and racing in the GB Olympic rowing trials (note, he did not perform nearly well enough for his US citizenship to complicate matters, but it was fun). Later in life he competed in triathlons and ran 10 Boston marathons as a charity runner. Robert's key introduction to Nordic skiing came with EMXC Youth, opening a new world of endurance training thrills. Outside skiing, Robert works in finance, managing an investment firm called Ironsides Partners which he founded in 2007. He is married to Kris Collins, an EMXC Youth coach and law professor at BU, and is father of Calvin and Josie, both EMXC skiers. |
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 Having grown up in close proximity to snowy mountains and flowing rivers, Nick fell in love with boats and skis at an early age. While a recreational downhill skier, he fell in love with rowing during high school and went on to row in college. After coaching sailing and rowing in his younger years, he easily fell into coaching high school rowing and had the privilege of representing the USA as the coach of the JM4+ at the 2007 Junior World Championships in Beijing. Nick came to Cross Country skiing late in life but finds it to be the perfect amalgam of downhill skiing and rowing. Nick is a lifelong learner and educator and loves getting outside as much as possible. He also enjoys biking, paddling, running, hiking, and most any other sport that gets him outside, particularly if it involves type 2 fun. Nick is a US Ski & Snowboard L100 certified Cross Country coach. |
 Rebecca loves the adventure of skiing and coaching in every kind of weather in New England! She enjoys learning about the goals of each athlete and what each athlete is working on. Before joining the juniors coaching team, Rebecca coached for six years in the EMXC youth program, spending two years each in recreational, new skier, and racing groups. Rebecca believes in investing in her own technique development, as well as her coaching skills. Rebecca is a US Ski & Snowboard L200 certified coach. Rebecca also loves strength training and Orange Theory. She also finds ways to live outside any chance she can get, whether entertaining or working in her garden. When she isn’t enjoying her off time, Rebecca practices as a biotech patent attorney at a firm she founded in 2014. Rebecca is also a single parent to two EMXC juniors. |
 Ben Scirica, Volunteer Coach Ben leads the Wax Team and has coached youth and junior skiing for the past decade. He is always excited for any outside activity, especially with his family. He is continually amazed by the determination and skills of the EMXC athletes and feels privileged to help them grow and achieve their goals. |
 Terry Wong, Volunteer Coach Terry Wong has been pursuing various athletic endeavors his entire life, particularly enjoys learning new sports, and ideally will eventually find one that he not only enjoys doing, but actually excels at. A three-season athlete in high school (soccer, rifle, and tennis), he slowed his focus to rifle while in college, eventually rising to be captain of the team. Post college, he became enamored with Ultimate Frisbee and its Spirit of the Game ethos, reaching nationals three times. As wisdom accumulated, he subscribed to the old maxim about going longer because you can’t get faster, and started to run marathons. On a dare he attempted a Craftsbury Ski marathon and became bit by the bug of another equipment intensive sport. A US Ski & Snowboard L100 certified coach, he tricked his kids into joining EMBK (now EMXC Youth) so he could ski more often, and was pleasantly surprised that they enjoyed Nordic skiing enough to join CSU (now EMXC Juniors). As a coach of soccer, basketball, ultimate and skiing, he’s dedicated to helping each athlete maximize their individual potential. |