Fred

Last March, about a half-hour after the award ceremony at the NCAA Championships in Lake Placid, as Toomas and I were cleaning and packing up the wax cabin after a long week, Trond burst in with a giddy smile on his face and said, "Hey Adam! Your hero, Fred Fayette, is right outside the door! You should go out and say hello." And of course I did, but it was a little hard to get a private audience with him at that particular moment, because others had also noticed that Fred was in the parking lot, and lots of folks wanted to come over and chat with him, since he hadn't been seen around the venue all week. Nevertheless, we got a chance to catch up on the latest, and to agree about how privileged we both were to be able to hang around the college ski circuit for so many years. I left our conversation feeling a little bit refreshed after a disappointing race week, and I was already looking forward to the next time our paths would cross. But Fred died the following month, on April 26.

Fred Fayette was the volunteer assistant coach at the University of Vermont for what seemed like forever. He graduated from UVM in 1969, and as far as I can tell, he started working as a volunteer assistant right after graduation. By the time I was a high school skier in New Hampshire in the 1980’s, he’d been a volunteer assistant coach at UVM for quite a few years. By the time I was a college ski racer, at the University of Wyoming, I was getting pretty well accustomed to seeing him beside the trail or in the parking lot at the race venue whenever UVM was in attendance. And during my races, I could always count on hearing something nice from Fred as I passed by his spot beside the trail, whether it was a reliable, accurate split, or just an encouraging word.

Over the years, I grew more and more fond of seeing Fred at ski races. It started to become a highlight of my college skiing experience, first as a racer but then, more so, as a volunteer assistant coach myself. Because it was then that I started to see Fred as a role model that I could learn from and try to emulate to some small degree in my own involvement with the sport.

There was no question that Fred’s approach to his role with UVM was the ideal that I was aiming for, whenever possible, as my role with UAA has gradually expanded and deepened. His skill set and mine are not particularly similar, but it was his approach to his role – his sincerity – that really inspired me. I guess my appreciation for Fred’s involvement with UVM hasn’t gone unnoticed by the UAA coaches; many is the time former UAA coach Andrew Kastning or current (and past) UAA coach Trond Flagstad have made comments to the effect that maybe someday, if I play my cards right, I could be a volunteer assistant coach in the mold of Fred Fayette. And I’ve always found those offhand comments from Andrew and Trond to be inspiring.

The University of Vermont Ski Team in particular will feel his absence. I recommend you take a moment to read a little more about Fred’s role with UVM here and here. Or you can hear from Fred himself here: Fred Fayette Video. This is a man who made his part of the world a better place. And a lot of people bettered themselves by crossing paths with Fred Fayette.