(Editor's Note: Montana State press release)
Former Bobcat skier and past assistant World Cup technical coach with the United States Ski and Snowboard Women’s Alpine team, Kris Shampeny, has been named head alpine coach at Montana State University, announced MSU Director of Athletics Leon Costello on Thursday afternoon.
Shampeny, a native of Manhattan, Mont., who was raised in the local ski community as part of the Bridger Ski Foundation program, raced for Montana State from 2010-12 under the leadership of Dan Brelsford. He also served as a student assistant at MSU -- a move that proved to be the start of a successful coaching career at both the national and international levels.
“I’m excited to welcome Kris back to MSU Athletics as the Head Alpine Ski Coach,” Costello said. “Kris has a strong heritage at MSU, and the Bozeman ski community and I look forward to working with him on continuing to grow the success of our alpine ski team.”
Most recently, Shampeny was the lead post graduate FIS (International Ski Federation) coach with the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club in Colorado where he helped navigate training and racing competition during the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with recruiting athletes, he also managed equipment acquisition, preparation, fitting, and maintenance as well as writing and administering the club’s strength and conditioning program.
From 2013-2020, Shampeny worked in a variety of positions with the U.S. Ski and Snowboard team. In his last two seasons with the national program, he served an assistant World Cup technical coach where he influenced the technical and tactical development of the team. Shampeny also managed the on-road strength and conditioning program working with the USST sports science department. He was also responsible for equipment, transportation, surface preparation and training logistics across the globe.
“I am extremely excited to be returning to the Bobcats to lead the alpine team,” Shampeny said. “My coaching career has really come full circle, and to have the opportunity to lead my alma mater toward a national championship is a dream come true. We have some work to do to get there, but the amount of support from the athletic department and the surrounding community makes the possibilities endless in the pursuit of a national title.”
Shampeny served as head development coach from 2016-2018 where he oversaw the technical and tactical direction of the team, along with on-hill analysis. He was also responsible for the program’s budget which included eight athletes and three staff members that crossed between World Cup, Europa Cup and NorAm.
Shampeny started his stint with the US Ski and Snowboard women’s squad as an assistant development coach. Over three seasons, he helped build and supervise the strength and conditioning program, assisted in process and long-term goal setting for athletes, helped with technical and tactical training and acted as ski technician for 10 athletes.
A 2012 honors graduate of Montana State in plant science and plant pathology, and horticulture science, he is the son of former Bobcat men’s ski coach John Shampeny and the nephew of former MSU women’s ski coach Gary Shampeny.
Shampeny will begin his coaching duties in August.
