National Ability Center High Performance Team Head Coach Rob Umstead didn’t begin working with the adaptive sports center until 2024.
Umstead served as a guide for his wife, Danelle Umstead, as she competed in the 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 Paralympics, across which the couple won three bronze medals in para alpine skiing. It was at the 2022 Games in Beijing when the Umsteads had a look around the para alpine field and realized their competitors were young enough to be their children, which led Danelle to retiring in 2023.
Umstead’s coaching of National Ability Center athletes at training camps, as well as domestic and international races over the past two years, led to his selection to the U.S. Paralympic coaching staff for the Milano Cortina Games in March. With the help of Umstead’s coaching, the U.S. para alpine team went on to win two medals in the Paralympics, with Patrick Halgren winning the super-G standing silver medal and Andrew Kurka winning the super-G sitting bronze medal.
Umstead’s work with the NAC and U.S. Paralympic team led to him receiving the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Adaptive Development Coach of the Year award on May 28. According to the National Ability Center, the award goes to the adaptive development coach in the United States every year whose dedication and leadership most directly impacts high performance athletes.
“Over the past two years as Head Coach of the NAC High Performance Team, Rob has guided athletes through training camps, race weekends and international competition, while building a program that supports athletes at every stage of their development,” the National Ability Center said. “A huge part of Coach Rob’s impact happens behind the scenes. From reorganizing training plans to accommodate challenging weather conditions to coordinating travel, lodging and on-snow opportunities, he consistently works to remove barriers so athletes can focus on development and performance.”
The center said it is proud to have Umstead recognized on the national stage.
Umstead said he’s happy to have been part of the U.S. Paralympic team’s success this winter. He has enjoyed getting back into alpine coaching, which he did in New Hampshire, New Mexico and Utah before serving as Danelle’s guide.
Umstead said that his boss, Chief Programming and Education Officer Tracy Meier, nominated him for the award.
“It’s good to have the support from people at the NAC,” Umstead said. “I did get a shout out from a lot of the athletes afterwards, comments like, ‘Well it’s about time’ or ‘way to go coach.’”
Umstead credited his success as a coach in large part due to the high investment of his athletes. He said coaching alpine skiing starts with feedback from the athletes on the course.
Umstead is again hard at work with the National Ability Center preparing athletes for the next ski season. He’s focused on developing even more medal winners for the 2030 and 2034 Games. Umstead and the NAC believe they can help elevate the para skiing programs within some other ski clubs across the country in the coming years, which would increase the pool of talent for those Paralympics.
“The group of athletes that we have at the NAC is a super supportive group of each other and the staff,” Umstead said. “It’s an easy environment to be successful in because everybody’s helping everybody else out. It’s a fun group to work with, so it makes my job easy.”