Toby Koekkoek was born outside of Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up taking weekend trips to Stowe, Vermont. Whether it was skiing tight bumps with fresh dustings or bulletproof hardpack, working on 360s in the park, or the beautifully spaced Vermont trees, it's all skiing, and Toby grew to simply love skiing. However, he was also brought up in a family of racquet sportsmen, with a tennis teaching (and former ski patroller) father, and Squash teaching professional and coach mother.
After ski racing on the varsity squad as a freshman, Toby transferred to a boarding school in Massachusetts. This led him to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, when he was recruited to play for the top-ranked Franklin and Marshall College squash team. Although his passion for skiing had to be slightly put on hold, with only the occasional ski trip to the Poconos or back up to Vermont, four years as a Division I college athlete further ingrained a sense of grit, determination, and team mentality—playing an “individual sport” for a team trying to compete for a national championship. After playing four years of college squash, and graduating with a degree in American Studies, Toby headed west to follow his passion for skiing and playing in the big mountains of Jackson Hole.
Looking to get involved in the community and skiing, Toby started coaching for JHSC's NGS program (now the Rockchuck Racers) while working in restaurants, writing for Teton Gravity Research, coaching tennis, and progressing his skiing. After four years as an NGS coach, Toby was honored to take on the NGS coordinator position for the 2020–21 season. Toby is now taking his years of coaching experience with JHSC's Alpine Program and combining it with his passion for freeskiing: he currently serves as a Freeride Program ski coach and couldn't be happier about his new role.
Sport-specific Background
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Raced on the varsity ski team for Lincoln Sudbury High School as a freshman
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On the ambassador team for Sego Ski Co
Education
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Brooks School, Class of 2011
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B.A. American Studies, Franklin and Marshall College (2015)
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Graduate of the Startup Intensive program from Central Wyoming College
Personal Philosophy
I coach to pass on the passion, creativity, style, and flow I get from skiing. I feel like the luckiest person in the world when I’m skiing, and hope to pass that feeling onto others. I hope to make other skiers good stewards of the mountain, practicing safe, aware, and respectful mountain etiquette, and to help them progress as skiers, and as people, but most of all, to have fun, because that’s what it’s all about.
