Park City coach wins national adaptive development award

Rob Umstead’s national coaching award says as much about Park City as it does about one coach. As head coach of the National Ability Center High Performance Team, Umstead helped build a local program that now feeds directly into Team USA’s Paralympic pipeline, with athletes and coaches moving from Summit County camps to the world stage.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard named Umstead its Adaptive Development Coach of the Year, an honor that recognizes the coach whose work in development and international programs leads to high-level athlete performance during the season. The awards were announced at the organization’s annual Awards Dinner on May 12, 2026, in Park City. For Summit County, the recognition lands as proof that the NAC is not just a place for recreation, but a serious development center with national reach.

Umstead joined the National Ability Center in 2024 after more than 30 years of coaching experience. Team USA identifies him as a Paralympic bronze medalist in para alpine skiing, and U.S. Ski & Snowboard has noted that he coached across the United States before becoming a guide for his wife, Danelle Umstead. In Park City, his role grew quickly from daily training decisions to a place on the U.S. Paralympic coaching staff for the Milano Cortina Games.

That work paid off in Italy, where the U.S. para alpine team earned two super-G medals at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Center. Patrick Halgren won silver in the men’s standing super-G, finishing 0.98 seconds behind gold medalist Robin Cuche of Switzerland, and Andrew Kurka took bronze in the men’s sitting super-G. Halgren’s medal was his first Paralympic podium.

The National Ability Center credited Umstead with the unglamorous work that makes those results possible: reorganizing training plans, adjusting for weather, coordinating travel and lodging, and creating enough on-snow time to keep athletes progressing. In adaptive sport, those details are not side notes. They are often the difference between showing up and succeeding, because athletes, equipment and venues all require far more flexibility than standard coaching setups.

That reality is part of why Park City’s influence matters beyond the medal count. The NAC has become a place where high-performance athletes can train locally and still move into elite international competition. It is also a reminder that access remains a live issue in Summit County. The facility’s current Eagle lift creates safety and access challenges for adaptive athletes, especially mono-ski competitors, and it does not allow unloading at the mid-station.

Umstead’s rise also reflects continuity at the NAC. A 2023 report said he was stepping into the ski coaching role after Erik Leirfallom moved on to U.S. Ski & Snowboard, following more than 30 years in coaching. Two years later, Umstead’s award shows how much can grow from that handoff. In Park City, adaptive sport is no longer only about participation. It is shaping the next generation of Paralympic performance.