Canadian Team Leader Dave Wood Resigns

Dave Wood © skitrax.com

May 07, 2010 (Canmore, Alta.) – SkiTrax has learned from very reliable sources that Canadian Team Leader, Dave Wood, has resigned. Wood has been the Canadian cross-country ski team’s most successful coach but there has been turmoil during his tenure and recent rumours suggested that things were unsettled at Cross Country Canada’s (CCC) head office in Canmore, Alta.

In April CCC announced the hiring of Justin Wadsworth, a well known US Ski Team World Cup Coach, as the new Canadian xc ski head coach – read more HERE. Apparently things reached a turning point for Wood this week and he has resigned and will move to Rossland, BC. We’ll have more on this story as we continue to monitor the situation.

1 Comments For This Post

1. Marty Hall, NH, USA says:
   May 11th, 2010 at 8:36 am

   This has been a very messy break-up that has been building for at least the last3-4 years and has been a weakness of this program since the 70s. Where coaches are caste aside helter skelter. It has always been and it still is a BOD driven association. I know from my direct experience after 10 years as Head Coach, with the National Team, that I left for reasons that would lead me to other things I wanted to do in this sport, but that decision was made ever so much easier to make knowing that the BOD would no longer be an issue in my team life.
   CCC’s Board has major problems staying in the Board room and has the problem of inserting it’s self into the day to day operation of the program, in many cases over riding the directions and decisions of the ED, High Performance Director and the coaching staff.
   They have availed themselves to the athletes directly, individually and as a team, and have in instances mandated program changes. At this time the ED is definitely in a fight with them for control of the National Team program. These people like Jim McCarthy, Bruce Jefferies and Georgia Manhard are well seasoned in these kinds of battles for control. They will deny this, but I’ve experienced it first hand in my 10 years at the helm and in conversation with these people directly since then.
   The skiers have just shot themselves in the foot, as they are blinded by their own success, and don’t realize that this success is from the very program that they are trying to or have brought down. They are not capable of making these decisions that will keep them on track in this international arena. That is the responsibility of the new Head Coach.
   I wish Just Wadsworth, the new Head Coach, all the best in this continuing battle, as it is the culture of CCC to have this political control. So, be ready for interference. It is a many headed horse that runs this team.
   Also, with Dave Wood now gone, what happens to the training program direction, the Sports Science involvement and all those years of international experience and knowledge. The strength of this man’s dedication, international intelligence and team direction will be missed these next 4 years.
   The team should be the focus and that focus should be the responsibility of the professionals that have been hired to carry out this mandate of international excellence.
   These top skiers are well taken care of, are earning good salaries, have great life styles and have Dave to thank for bringing this about when he finally got control of the program in ’98.
   Well, in it’s finality, the one out come of all of this is the skiers have the burden of proving that they were right. I’ll be watching, I know that.

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