2020 Coach of the Year

We are so proud of our very own head coach Jan for being named the 2020 US Ski and Snowboard International Cross Country Coach of the Year! This is the second year in a row he has been recognized as International Coach of the Year in addition to being named Domestic Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2000. Jan founded and has coached Alaska Winter Stars for over 20 years, making AWS a strong club locally, nationally, and internationally. This past season, AWS athletes continued the tradition of excellence culminating with Gus' historic individual win at World Junior Championships in addition to the US Junior men repeating their 2019 performance with the 2020 relay win. Our athletes had amazing performances at Junior Nationals and State Championships as well, including podiums, top ten finishes, and Zander Maurer winning the 23rd AWS Skimeister title. You can read US Ski and Snowboard's write up about Jan here: https://usskiandsnowboard.org/news/2020-us-ski-snowboard-coaches-year

It's an honor to work with someone so hard working and passionate about skiing, and it is amazing to see Jan's hard work recognized by US Ski and Snowboard. This award comes in addition to AWS being named Cross Country Club of the Year and Gus receiving the Beck International Athlete of the Year award - In other words, it has been a big year for Alaska Winter Stars! Let's use all of this good news as motivation for all the great things to come!