Marty Hall

Last week we lost former Bowdoin Nordic coach Marty Hall.  Marty was one of the giants of North American skiing - he had a hand in so many major developments in the sport, from Bill Koch's silver medal to the first US women's national team to the advent of skating.  Many others have written about Marty's impact on North American skiing and the sport as a whole (here's a fun Fasterskier interview by Nat Herz '09), so I'd like to say a few words about what Marty meant to Bowdoin Nordic.

When Marty took over the program in the fall of 1999, Bowdoin Nordic was a pretty small operation - the team had modest resources and the single coaching position was very part-time.  Marty immediately started doing what he had done for his whole career - he advocated relentlessly for his athletes.  He pushed constantly for the college to provide the support and particularly the funding needed to build a legitimate varsity ski program.  Whenever he ran into a brick wall, he either found a new way forward or (more often) plowed right through.  He wasn't always tactful and he stepped on some toes along the way, but bit by bit he professionalized Bowdoin Nordic.  He pushed his skiers just as hard - I was Marty's assistant in that first year (a new position created at his insistence), and I remember so well the energy and excitement crackling around the team as he challenged them to train both harder and smarter, and to walk into every race believing that they belonged.  He asked a lot of his athletes, and more often than not they delivered.  And despite his tough, uncompromising demeanor, Marty managed to maintain the fun and positive atmosphere that has always been so integral to Bowdoin Nordic.  He respected his athletes and genuinely loved working with them - he always told me, "they keep me young."  Talk to any alum from this era and you'll hear all manner of Marty stories as part of a host of fond ski team memories - the relationships he built were real and strong.

By the time Marty retired in 2007, the program was thriving and, as importantly, was set up for future success - all the pieces were in place for continued progress.  Everything we've accomplished in the 18 years since I took over has been built on the incredible foundation that Marty left for us.  He was the right person for Bowdoin Nordic at the right time - I don't know if anyone else could have been as effective of an advocate for a program desperately in need of a champion.  He was a great mentor to both Leslie and me, and he's the reason that both of us are here now coaching at Bowdoin.  Even after all these years I still find myself revisiting and reworking old Marty ideas, or finally understanding something that Marty tried to tell me 10 or 20 years ago.  Marty was a gift, and I'll always be grateful for everything he did for our program and for me.  Thank you Marty, and rest in peace - you will be missed.