A conversation with Mike Jankowski...

How did you become a snowboard coach?

I started off as a snowboard instructor for 4 years in college from 1995-1998 as I was studying Recreation Management with an emphasis in Outdoor Wilderness Leadership. Out of college, I applied and was hired at Windell's Snowboard Camp on Mount Hood, Oregon, as a coach of entry-level riders in 1998. After coaching at snowboard camp for a summer and winter, I was offered a job in 1999 as the Head Freestyle Snowboard Coach at Stratton Mountain School (SMS) which is a prep school for competitive skiers and snowboarders located in Vermont. As it turned out, SMS was the premier snowboard program in the country and I was given the opportunity to coach and develop a program for elite athletes, some of whom would later go on to be members of the US Snowboard Team and successful professional athletes.

In 2001, while coaching the SMS team, I was offered the part-time position to coach the US Junior Snowboard Team that represents the US in the Junior World Championships. I went on to coach the US Junior Worlds' teams to gold medals in New Zealand, Italy and Finland.

In 2003, I was offered the job as the Assistant Halfpipe Coach and Team Manager for the US Snowboard Team. After coaching the US Team through the 2006 Olympics in Italy where the halfpipe team won 2 golds, 2 silvers and had 2 fourth place finishers, I was offered the position of Head Coach for the US Halfpipe Team which is my current job.

What do you like about being a US Olympic Coach?

Some of the most rewarding parts of my job include the satisfaction of helping people progress and reach their goals, the travel, working together with successful people, learning about different cultures and their approach to sport and the list goes on...

What don't you like about your job?

It is challenging to be working away from home for a large part of the year. Creating budgets, balancing budgets and the overall accounting portion of my job is one of the least enjoyable things.

Describe a typical day. 

A typical day as a snowboard coach for the US Team means waking up about 6:00-7:00 A.M. and checking that we have all of the tools and equipment that we will need for the day, loading up the vehicles, checking on all variables such as weather that could affect our plans and then heading up to the mountain about 7:30 A.M. for either a training day or competition day. Once at the mountain we have a designated place where the team and staff will get together for a quick meeting to go over the plan for the day.

Then we head up the chairlifts where the staff sets up camp at the top of the halfpipe with our video cameras, snowboard and binding tuning tools, drinks and snacks, backup equipment, medical equipment and whatever else we may need for the day. Then the riding begins. Each athlete has a plan for the day, and they start working on whatever it is that they may be working on. This could be anything from the fundamental skills that will help them learn a particular trick or attempting that trick itself. The staff is video taping each run and providing feedback to help the athlete reach their goal for the day. And at the same time we are monitoring the athlete energy levels and progress so that we can encourage them to either shift gears, take a break or push harder depending on the situation. As the energy level gets lower and the conditions may deteriorate, we wrap up our session for the day and head back to our accommodations.

In the afternoons, we begin with physical therapy treatments, video review, equipment tuning and waxing, strength and conditioning workouts and make sure everyone has some personal time to take care of whatever they may need to take care of. We wrap things up with a team dinner most of the time and communicate the plan for the following day to everyone who needs to know. Also during the off-snow time, the staff is working on nailing down the details for the next destinations that we will be heading to. These details include booking and confirming the team lodging, air travel, rental cars, event entries and lift tickets to name a few of our tasks.

Is there an off-season or what vacation time do you have?

We have periodic time off in May to June and September to October, but it depends on the year when those months off may fall. We do have some solid periods of time to go on vacation and take breaks throughout the year. The busiest time is Nov 15 - April 15.

How long do you plan on being the US Coach?

I could see myself working in high-performance sport for the rest of my career. I think that some of my roles will change through the years in working in this field, but I do want to maintain the coaching portion of my job for some time to come. Working in the Olympic movement is truly a special thing, and once you have done this, it is hard to imagine yourself doing something different.

What do you think a person needs to be successful in this specific occupation?

Some of the traits that are important to be successful in this job are the same traits that are important in many other jobs. They include patience, creativity, selflessness, confidence, common sense, teamwork, communication, compassion, perseverance, vision, courage, enthusiasm, loyalty, respect, integrity, flexibility, accountability and honesty to name a few.

Any advice for someone who is aspiring to reach your level within the industry?

The best advice is to look at the traits above and make sure that you have at least 3-4 of these traits (or some similar) that you hold with high regard in the way that you operate on a daily basis. Working and living each day with a purpose is critical. It is important to not let the past define you and to not look too far ahead into the future as this can cause an uneasy feeling of the unknown. It is best to focus on doing the best you can each day and look for ways that you can improve how you operate (and how the company operates) to hopefully bring streamlining and innovation to the overall operation. Stay humble and do not get ahead of yourself. All good things happen in all due time.