FARMINGTON – The University of Maine at Farmington Department of Athletics regrets to share the sorrowful news of the passing of the late Tom Reynolds. Reynolds was an instrumental figure in alpine skiing both within the state as well as at a national level.
Reynolds is one of the largest, most impactful coaching figures in the alpine ski world, having coached at several different levels as well as across the United States, Canada and Europe. Reynolds’ coaching began in 1957 at Sugarloaf where he was an important member of the mountain’s ski school as well as a coach for the Junior Racing Program. In 1961, Reynolds became the varsity skiing coach at Farmington High School where he spent four seasons. He was named a coach for the Maine Junior Team at the Eastern Alpine Championships in 1963 and 1964.
After leaving Farmington High School in 1965, Reynolds became the ski coach at the University of Maine at Orono, where he spent two seasons before coming to the University of Maine at Farmington.
Reynolds left a lasting legacy at the University of Maine at Farmington as the head coach of the ski team, taking over in 1966. Reynolds coached at UMF for over 30 years, leading the program to become one of the top alpine skiing programs in all of the Eastern United States. Right away Reynolds put Farmington skiing on the map, quickly developing one of the best program’s in the country. The team won consecutive NESCAC North Division Championships from 1967-1972 with several athletes competing at the NCAA level as well. Reynolds also led the alpine team to four collegiate alpine championships and three Canadian-American collegiate championships.
Reynolds helped create the inaugural women’s alpine team at UMF in 1971, leading the team for 13 seasons until the sport was dropped by the athletic department in 1984.
While still a coach at UMF, Reynolds became associated with the U.S. Ski Team in 1979, coaching the team through the World Cup Circuit in Europe in 1980. He then also became the president of the USSCA in the 1980s. Reynolds, along with Doc DesRoches, was the founder of the UMF Ski Industries Program that focuses on the business side of the ski world in 1981. The program allowed for UMF graduates the opportunity to graduate and be prepared for a career in the ski industry. The renowned program quickly gained national recognition as certificate requirements for the program could be integrated into a four-year degree in business, teaching and coaching, or rehabilitation.
Reynolds is also an acclaimed author in the world of skiing having written “A Guide to Alpine Coaching” (1974), “Effective Ski Coaching” (2004), and “The Skiing Professionals: Coaching and Teaching” (2019). Each of these books focuses in Tom’s words “on coaching and teaching, as well as the interrelationship of the two skiing specialties. I believe that it is extremely important to have an exchange of knowledge and an understanding of teaching basics to both the young racer, as well as the World Cup athlete”.
Reynolds has been inducted into numerous Halls of Fame, including a 2000 inductee into the University of Maine at Farmington Athletic Hall of Fame, a 2004 Maine Ski Hall of Fame inductee, and a 2017 inductee into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame. In 2004, the United States Ski Association created the “Tom Reynolds Coaching Award for Lifetime Service” award annually to a retiring coach. In 2005, the National Collegiate Athletic Ski Conference named its Eastern Division after Reynolds, naming it the Reynolds Division. The Reynolds Division is the Division the UMF alpine team’s are still members of. Reynolds also was a recipient of the National Lifetime Award for Outstanding Contributions to Skiing Education by the Professional Ski Instructors of America in 2007.
Throughout his illustrious career, Reynolds also held several important roles amongst numerous ski committees and organizations. Even having coached at the highest levels of skiing across the world, Reynolds never stopped coaching youth and newcomers to skiing.
His impact on the ski world and the community of Farmington is second to none. Tom Reynolds will be deeply missed.
