Alberta-based freestyle coach Rex Thomas is currently in Cortina, Italy, at the Olympic Winter Games, coaching athletes on one of sport’s biggest stages. We caught up with Rex to talk about the path to the Games, the athletes he’s working with, and what it means to represent Alberta at the highest level. Check out his incredible insight below!
Q: When did the Olympic Winter Games start to feel real for you as a coach?
Rex: Probably when Liam Richards was officially announced on Jan. 23. That’s when it really hit. I fully teared up more than once that day.
Q: How did this opportunity come together — was it something you were working toward?
Rex: It happened very unexpectedly. A young skier from New Zealand, Liam Richards, was looking for a new coach after things weren’t going well back home. His former coach pointed him my way. We started working together in January 2024, and it was almost immediate success.
We talked about changing his FIS affiliation to Great Britain — his parents’ birth country — where he already had a passport. I’ve known the head of GB Snowsports for literal decades, and once he knew I was willing to keep coaching Liam, he was over the moon to have him skiing for GB.
From there, things just grew. I was already working with Anja Barugh, then Ben Harrington jumped on board. Both Ben and Liam basically locked up their Olympic spots at the Calgary World Cup in 2025, which was unreal in hindsight. We went to World Championships, and I also helped out one of the U.S. girls I’ve worked with for years.
This season, Ben Lynch joined my World Cup pipe squad. While in New Zealand, Sylvia Trotter and Caoimhe Heavey also asked if I’d help with slope and big air. I said yes. Of those six athletes, I’m here at the Games with four.
Q: Which athletes are you coaching at the Games?
Rex: Liam Richards, Sylvia Trotter, Ben Harrington and Ben Lynch.
Q: What countries are you working with?
Rex: Liam skis for Great Britain — that’s who I’m officially with at the Games. I’ve known Pat Sharples from GB Snowsports since my pro days… back when dinosaurs still roamed the earth. Seriously though, over 26 years.
Sylvia and Ben Harrington are both from New Zealand. I’ve been running camps there since 2016, so I knew everyone well before working officially with them. Ireland kind of got stuck with me because I coach Ben Lynch, but they’ve been incredible — super supportive the whole way.
Q: Which disciplines are you coaching, and what does your role look like on snow?
Rex: Sylvia is here for slopestyle and big air, and the three boys are all here for pipe. Slopestyle and pipe are fairly straightforward. Big air is trickier because it overlaps with a pre-Games pipe camp.
Right now, we’re finishing slopestyle training, with women’s qualifiers on the 7th. Then I’ll head to Corvatsch to ride pipe with the boys, hopefully rip back for women’s finals, then back again. Big air training is at night, so I may video coach some sessions, but I’ll be in the start with Sylvia for qualifiers on the 14th. When she makes finals — and I say when — we’ll deal with that then. I’m not stressing yet.
After that, it’s five straight days with the pipe boys: training, qualifiers, then finals. Then I’m up at 6 a.m. to get to Zurich and head home.
Q: What does it mean to represent Alberta on the Olympic stage?
Rex: It’s pretty unreal. As a provincially based coach, it’s an honour to showcase the kinds of athletes Alberta can help produce. There are also five Canadians and an Aussie at these Games who spent time training with me in Calgary. It shows what an amazing place Alberta is, no matter where you call home.
Q: How is Olympic preparation different from World Cups or FIS events?
Rex: It’s hugely different. You’re trying to peak at exactly the right time while still progressing tricks, staying healthy, and avoiding illness or injury. This only happens once every four years. You get one shot.
There are so many moments where the smallest change — wind, light, temperature — means shelving something until it’s perfect again. Or a nagging injury where you have to make the hard call to stay off skis and focus on rehab. It’s mentally taxing for everyone.
Q: Is there a moment that feels directly connected to getting here?
Rex: Honestly, it was early COVID. I was thinking about quitting coaching altogether and going back to sales or something I’d hate. Then I got a call from Ethan Fernandes and his parents saying, “We feel you’re the only one who can get him to NextGen, and we’ll do whatever it takes.”
That call changed everything. Ethan made NextGen in 2021, the athlete group grew, and the level of events grew. The first big one was the 2022 World Junior Championships in Switzerland, where I took seven athletes to represent Canada. Three of them now coach for me. That was a turning point.
Q: Who played a key role in helping you get here?
Rex: Chip Milner, Patrick Breault and Daniel Lefebvre are the reason I came to Alberta in the first place. The support of Jeremy Cooper and Freestyle Alberta makes everything possible. But the biggest impact comes from the families and athletes — past, present and future. They trust us, even when we do things a bit differently.
Q: What excites you most about standing at the start gate at the Games?
Rex: Freeskiing wasn’t in the Olympics until 2014, and I was long retired by then. I competed at X Games, but never had the Olympic chance. This is as close as I’ll get — and honestly, being part of someone else achieving their dream might mean even more.
Q: What do you want your athletes to feel when they drop in?
Rex: Prepared. Excited. Honoured to represent their countries. And most of all, cared for and loved. Because they are.
Q: When people in Alberta read this, what do you hope they understand?
Rex: Sometimes dreams do come true.