Sherbine trading places with Gibson as new ski & snowboard head coach
7/10/2023 4:28:51 PM | Ski & Snowboard
As part of Liberty University’s ski & snowboard team from 2018-22, Tyler Sherbine helped the Flames’ snowboard team soar to second- and third-place showings in the men’s Rail Jam and Slopestyle events, respectively, at the USCSA National Championships in 2019 followed by third- and second-place respective performances in 2020 in Lake Placid, N.Y.
Now, after serving as assistant coach this past spring semester and taking on the head coaching role of the program from Isaac Gibson as of July 1, he will look to continue to build on the program’s winning ways on the men’s and women’s sides of both the ski and snowboard teams.
“I love the culture that is already here, that Isaac created, and I want to keep that,” Sherbine said, noting that Gibson will remain on staff to serve as assistant coach while focusing on establishing Liberty’s chapter of Skiers and Snowboarders for Christ (SFC). “I have been very inspired by him. He is one of my biggest mentors and he’ll still be around, still coaching, so I am excited to build on that (relationship).”
He is also thrilled to have the opportunity to pour into the lives of the team members more directly, as a coach rather than a teammate.
“I’m excited to have an influence on our skiers and riders and to create the best coaching experience for them,” Sherbine said. “I’ll be working with all of the riders and skiers and vice versa, as a lot of them work with each other as well. Everyone is kind of a big family.”
After graduating from Liberty with a B.S. in Business Administration: Project Management in 2022, Sherbine served as head coach of the Next Level Ski & Snowboard Camps last summer at the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre (LMSC). He spent the last part of the summer and much of the fall as a fishing guide for a ministry in Montana before being called back to Lynchburg, Va.
“My experience as a fishing guide in Montana was beautiful,” Sherbine said. “Serving world leaders and pastors and business leaders, persons of influence, we would provide a place of rest for them. That refuge taught me the power of serving, taught me to stop relying on myself to make plans and big-life decisions, taught me to trust God’s plans for my life.”
He is excited for all that God has in store for the team in the 2023-24 season, with a strong contingent of returning skiers and snowboarders on both the men’s and women’s sides.
Without showing favoritism to the team he competed on, Sherbine does have high expectations for the men’s snowboarders, with riders such as Jesse Mast returning for his fifth and final season of eligibility, complemented by junior Jayden Horrocks, senior Andrew Smith, and sophomore Tate Gardner.
“We’re really close to winning national championships for the men’s snowboard team,” Sherbine said, looking forward to the 2024 USCSA National Championships that will return to Lake Placid. “Things we want to focus on to prepare for next year are our jumps and the competition realm.”
On the men’s skiing side, the Flames graduated Oliver Harner and Max Ozanne, but Sherbine said they have “a core foundation of five extremely good skiers” coming back.
The women captured the program’s first USCSA national championship team titles in both the ski and slopestyle Rail Jams in 2022, with Sherbine’s fiancée — Sam Pesile (’23), who will serve as an assistant coach after they are wed in Kentucky in August — contributing to the snowboard national title.
“Coaching last year was incredible, as I hadn’t done anything like that before,” Sherbine said of his assistant coach role last season. “Coaching with a significant other will be a cool dynamic, as we both have developed really good leadership skills. It will be good to bounce ideas off her and exciting making plans about what we’re going to do with the team.”
This weekend, the LMSC will hold a weekend camp capped at 60 skiers and snowboards of all ages, with several members of the Flames’ and Lady Flames’ teams serving as instructors and counselors.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
