Andrew Kastning named head Nordic coach at University of Alaska

Movin’ on up…

Andrew Kastning, born and raised in Crested Butte, was recently named head Nordic coach at the University of Alaska at Anchorage.
Kastning got his first taste of Nordic racing with Bobby Pogoloff at the age of six in the Bill Koch Ski League, before racing for the Crested Butte Nordic Club Team when it formed in the 1990s.
In large part due to the high school coaching efforts of Ingrid Butts, Kastning reached a point where he could race competitively at the NCAA Division I level. He raced for the University of Vermont Catamounts, where he was a four-year team member and ultimately the team captain.
After graduating, Kastning returned to his roots to coach the Crested Butte junior program for two years in 2004. After a brief foray into the world of documentary film-making, Kastning accepted a job with the University of Nevada at Reno as the assistant Nordic coach for the men’s and women’s teams from 2007 to 2009.
He then moved to Bozeman, Mont. to be the assistant coach for the Montana State University Nordic team. During his time there he helped the team to a school-best five All-American titles and in 2010 the team placed third at the NCAA Championships. Kastning will now head to Anchorage as the head Nordic coach.
The University of Alaska at Anchorage has a student population of about 15,000 and is categorized at the NCAA Division II level, though the team competes against both Division I and Division III schools. In 2009 the ski team (Nordic and alpine combined) placed fourth at the NCAA Championships for Division II schools.
Anchorage, a town of approximately 300,000, is as close as it comes to a “football town” for Nordic skiing in the United States.
“Lots of folks will be watching the progress of the team,” Kastning says. “I’m stepping into a team mostly made of Europeans. I’ll be looking to balance the strengths of our friends across the pond with some strong American talent in order to both improve American skiing and improve upon the fourth-place finish of 2009.”
Citing his background in a small town like Crested Butte that offers “an environment for growth of confidence and a foundation that can lead to things like coaching a collegiate ski team in a big city,” Kastning extends a special thanks to his past coaches Bobby Pogoloff and Ingrid Butts, his parents and wife, as well as Brian Dale and Don Mancini.