Shane MacDowell - Director of Skiing / Head Coach - Nordic - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Shane MacDowell

Title:
Director of Skiing / Head Coach - Nordic
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Shane MacDowell '09 was named the Director of Skiing and Head Nordic Coach on June 11, 2024.

In his first year at the helm, the Wildcats earned six All-East selections, placed 9th at the NCAA Championships, and had two student-athletes earn All-America honors, including a National Champion in the slalom—marking the third individual national champion in school history and first since 1973.

Under MacDowell’s tutelage the past three years as an assistant Nordic coach, the Wildcats have recorded a total of five All-America finishes at the NCAA Skiing Championships. That includes Jasmine Lyons racing to a second-place finish at the 2023 NCAAs, as well as Luci Anderson’s All-America Second Team honor.

Those All-America performances helped UNH place sixth at the 2022 NCAA Championships and in eighth place each of the past two years.

MacDowell has also guided Wildcat Nordic skiers to a total of four EISA All-East First Team accolades and four All-East Second Team honors.

Anderson was the EISA freestyle point champion in 2023 and was ranked No. 3 overall in the East in both ’23 and ‘24.

MacDowell was a four-year Wildcat Nordic skier who earned multiple top-15 finishes on the EISA Carnival circuit before graduating in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in English and Journalism. The native of Peru, Mass., assists Schwartz in all elements of the Nordic ski program, which includes recruiting, training, waxing, alumni outreach and program fundraising efforts.

Shane's collegiate coaching background includes a stint as assistant Nordic ski coach at Northern Michigan from 2015-17.

MacDowell worked in Lake Placid, N.Y., as the biathlon and cross-country coach at the New York Ski Educational Foundation (NYSEF) as well as the cross-country sports manager for the World University Games, which will take place in January 2023 at Lake Placid. At NYSEF, MacDowell managed and coached the junior and development (youth) teams while developing effective fundraising and engagement programs for the local and regional community to applaud.

Shane, a Burke Mountain Academy graduate, previously held the role of assistant Nordic ski coach at the Green Mountain Valley School (GMVS) in Waitsfield, Vt. His professional career began as a wax technician and sales associate with Boulder Nordic Sport East (BNS) while simultaneously serving as head coach of the Cape Elizabeth High School Ski Team in Maine. During that time, he was the head wax technician for the USSA J1 Scandinavian and OPA Cup Finals trips in Europe in 2013.

MacDowell also served as assistant coach for the Sun Valley Ski and Education Foundation (SVSEF) Gold Team where he was also the head wax technician. His duties included organizing wax testing for the Super Tour, national events, and for Intermountain Junior National qualifiers along with coaching and mentoring the Gold Team and Junior athletes.