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The Dartmouth
July 24, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Former All-American Thomas Woolson ’17 Returns to Lead Dartmouth Men’s Alpine

After four years coaching elite international ski teams, Woolson comes home to guide the next generation of Big Green athletes.

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Dartmouth team captain and All-American Thomas Woolson ’17 will return to Hanover as the Head Coach of Men’s Alpine Skiing, replacing JP Daigneault. 

Woolson spent the past year as an assistant and performance coach for the U.S. Women’s Alpine Ski Team, according to a press release from Dartmouth Athletics. In that position, he helped lead athletes to two World Cup podiums, 27 top-10 results, a World Championship medal and a second-place result at the Nations Cup giant slalom.

As a Dartmouth student-athlete, Woolson earned first-team All-America recognition for a fourth-place slalom finish in 2018. He captained the team for two seasons and was inducted into Dartmouth’s Wearers of the Green in 2024. The Dartmouth sat down with Woolson to learn more about his journey and return to campus. 

Can you tell me a bit about your journey from Dartmouth athlete to coach?

TW: After I graduated, I kept skiing and did a year as a coach-athlete up at Burke Mountain in northern Vermont. After that season, I decided to step away from skiing and moved to Colorado to do medical research for an orthopedic doctor. When COVID hit, my research was shut down, so I started coaching at the local ski club there. I coached their women’s International Ski and Snowboard Federation program — college-aspiring skiers doing a post-grad or senior year. I got excited about coaching, and while I was applying to medical school, I decided to go coach for a few years in Europe. I had a couple of really awesome athletes that I was working with and got really excited about ski coaching. For the last four years, I’ve been coaching in Europe through the winters with various private teams, and then most recently with the U.S. Ski Team.

How did you first get into skiing?

TW: I’m from northern Vermont and my parents met as ski patrollers — the joke is that I learned how to ski before I could walk. Ski school was the easiest daycare for them in the winter. I have two brothers, and we all grew up skiing together. My hometown has an amazing ski academy — Green Mountain Valley School. I grew up going through their club, and did a post-graduate year there before I came to Dartmouth. Skiing is very much in my community, my friends and my family.

How does Dartmouth’s men’s alpine program compare to other collegiate programs?

TW: In the college setting, skiing is a pretty niche sport, right? There are only 20 programs across the U.S. Dartmouth has a really strong history with skiing. In the East, where the schools are often smaller liberal arts colleges, I think we’ve always been a powerhouse. We’re one of the few top programs that doesn’t allow athletes to take classes online and that sort of thing. We build a strong culture within the team and try to integrate the team into Dartmouth culture, which I think is a special and unique thing. 

What do you think about the work/life balance for student-athletes at Dartmouth?

TW: I’m coming from working at the very elite level, and in that realm, everyone’s fine-tuning details and trying to figure out how to find an extra percentage point. I think the big challenge for me is, having seen what it’s like at the top level, how do we integrate that at Dartmouth? While these are elite athletes, that’s not their entire life. They’re still Dartmouth students, they’re still here taking classes, they have a social life, they’re a part of clubs. They want to integrate and be a part of the Dartmouth community. I want to treat them as holistic athletes so they can enjoy every day and find that balance.

What are you most excited about in this role?

TW: I’ve always been inspired by leaders who lead by example. I want to show my team that I’m here to outwork all of the other coaches and to put in as much effort as them. I want to always have their backs, whether it’s with professors, logistics or anything outside of skiing. The team has been super successful and I’m fortunate to be stepping into a great position. I don’t need to fix something that isn’t broken. I want to help support my team and make sure they can keep moving along in a positive direction.

This article has been edited for clarity and length.