It’s official. I’ll be returning to Mount Snow! I’ll be doing some coaching, training, and special program coordination work with AbilityPLUS, a couple days per week, starting now. Anyone want to be a volunteer adaptive ski or snowboard instructor at Mount Snow?
PRESS RELEASE:
West Dover, VT– Bob Speck, an accomplished adaptive sports coach and educator with more than 40 years experience in snow sports, adaptive sports, and outdoor education, has joined AbilityPLUS as Special Programs & Training Coordinator. Bob will be based at the adaptive sports organization’s Mount Snow location, where he will work with Program Director Linda Walsh to coordinate volunteer recruitment and training, facilitate PSIA/AASI events, assist in the development of special programs, and act as head coach of the AbilityPLUS Alpine Race team for Special Olympics and Paralympics events eligible athletes.
“AbilityPLUS at Mount Snow, our volunteers, and the individuals and families we serve are extremely fortunate to have Bob Speck join us as Special Programs & Training Coordinator. Bob is a remarkably insightful, mindful and compassionate person, with a wealth of experience in the adaptive sports world and beyond,” said Walsh. “This season, we are poised to exponentially strengthen our programs serving the Mount Snow family, and Bob is the perfect addition as AbilityPLUS continues to grow and move forward!”
Bob is a PSIA/AASI certified ski and snowboard instructor, a former member of the PSIA-E educational staff, a registered yoga teacher, NOLS outdoor educator, and certified personal trainer. He teaches yoga at Heart of the Village Yoga Studio in Manchester (www.heartofthevillageyoga.com) and is involved with non-profit organizations dedicated to working with combat veterans with disabilities, including www.warriorsliveon.org and Wounded Warrior Project. No stranger to Mount Snow, Bob was formerly a Mount Snow ski school instructor, staff trainer, program manager, and mountain bike guide more than a dozen years ago.
“The thing about Bob is he knows no limitations – as a coach, mentor or leader – and he instills that attitude naturally in the individuals and families with whom he interacts,” noted Walsh. “We’re truly blessed to have someone of his ability and dedication accept our invitation to devote his skills to the AbilityPLUS family.”
In addition to his work with people with disabilities, Bob is a registered professional engineer in the State of Vermont and currently performs consulting work with Stevens & Associates in Brattleboro. He maintains a part-time practice designing timber-framed structures and helping develop design concepts for homes and barns that integrate efficient structure, design aesthetics and sustainability. Bob bases his work on the concept that everything is connected – personal wellness, healthy homes and community, and the natural environment. Bob, his wife Jo, and their dog Emma, live in Manchester, Vermont.
AbilityPLUS is a not-for-profit charitable organization that offers life changing athletic and recreational opportunities for individuals with disabilities, to create freedom, promote independence, support inclusion and help those individuals and their families discover their full social, emotional and athletic potential. AbilityPLUS serves people with any physical or intellectual disability, from injured service men and women to people with autism across the spectrum. AbilityPLUS is a chapter of Disabled Sports USA, and is a Paralympic Sport Club. For more information about AbilityPLUS programs, volunteering and financial needs visit www.AbilityPLUS.org.