NYSEF has announced a new program director, Rich Burnley (Burnley) and new head alpine coach, John Morgan (Morgan) at Gore Mountain (located at 793 Peaceful Valley Road in North Creek). NYSEF has gone through several staff changes this summer and “we are excited to begin planning for the 2017-2018 winter season with an excellent team of dedicated staff at Gore,” said Executive Director, John Norton.

Burnley has taken on several roles within the snowsport industry. In addition to his key role at Gore, he was head alpine ski coach at Shenendehowa School in Clifton Park where he successfully coached both girls’ and boys’ teams to win N.Y. State championships. With this championship, Burnley was named Section 2 ‘Alpine Coach of the Year’ by the Albany Times Union. Burnley currently serves on the New York Ski Racing Association (NYSSRA) U14 Development Committee and motivated the decision to add Super G to the N.Y. State program. In this committee, he helped increase athlete competition by implementing East/West regional racing which has grown NYSEF’s awareness across the state. Burnley began his coaching career with NYSEF in 1986 and transitioned to assistant program director in 2002. Through his time with NYSEF, Burnley demonstrated knowledge and experience in organizing all aspects of race events while illustrating good rapport with racers, parents, coaches and officials.

“With Rich’s experience in the ski industry, reputation and keen understanding of NYSEF’s operations, we know our Gore program is in good hands,” said John Norton. Although we will miss former program director, Bone Bayse, who has moved onto manage Gore Mountain, we are thrilled to gain Burnley who has been a part of the NYSEF program for several years. Burnley said, “Bone’s shoes will be hard to fill, literally, but with my commitment to the NYSEF mission and our great staff, the Gore program will to continue to be as strong as ever.”

As program director, Burnley will oversee the entire Gore Mountain program including the freeride and events departments.

Like Burnley, Morgan has been a part of NYSEF in different capacities. Morgan began as a part-time U16/19 coach and moved to a full-time coach in 2014. Morgan has dedicated time to develop as a professional coach over the last few years. He earned his USSA Level 300 certification last year. Morgan served as head U16/19 coach in the 2016-2017 season and took on more responsibility in order to help the alpine program expand. As head, alpine coach, Morgan will be working with various ages while planning and scheduling alpine events. Also, he will collaborate more with NYSEF on a larger scale (Whiteface, Winter Term, Northwood and Gore). Morgan said, “I am excited to have the privilege of working with the entire NYSEF / Gore Alpine program. My years with NYSEF as both an athlete and coach have provided me with opportunity to build strong relationships with athletes, their families and fellow coaches.”

John Norton mentioned, “we are pleased to have him (John) on our team and taking on a new leadership role.”

Both Burnley and Morgan are seasoned staff members who will take the NYSEF Gore program to the next level. We thank them for growing their careers with NYSEF.