Jo Ryding is the Para Alpine Performance Coach for GB Snowsport, a role she returned to in 2024 after she first occupied the position for the previous Winter Paralympic Games cycle for Beijing 2022. Her journey into coaching has been shaped by personal experience, resilience, and a deep love for skiing, even after a serious injury ended her competitive racing career.
Jo is responsible for coaching Britain’s leading para alpine skiers ahead of the Winter Games in Milan-Cortina 2026, and here she shares the rewards and challenges that come with such a demanding role…
Draw on your personal journey and experiences
“I was a ski racer myself. I grew up ski racing, then had a bad injury, quit skiing and started coaching when I was 22. So I’ve been coaching full-time since then. I love it.
“But when I had the injury, I had three years off that included five operations to reconstruct my knee, and then I went back to racing for two years. But I had to retire because I snapped my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and thought, that’s enough. But going through that cycle of having the injury and coming back to the sport taught me a lot that I can pass on to the other athletes. So I get a bit more of an understanding of how they’re feeling and what emotions are going on, which is nice.”
Try and overcome the FOMO
“For me, I just want to help people enjoy the sport that I did. So it was quite an easy transition. I knew I was done [due to injury] so the transition wasn’t too bad. The thing that I found hard was I’d set a course in a race, and then I’d want to go and ski it! You get the fear of missing out. So for me, that was maybe more of a thing, but it was quickly overwritten by the benefit that you get from helping numerous people enjoy what you enjoy.”
Encourage athletes to embrace other sports
“All the guys on the world class programme have access to strength and conditioning programmes. For the younger guys, they have access to TACS (talented athlete scheme), so they’ll get strength and conditioning support through that. But for others, I think a big thing is access to other sports, if you can. So that when you come home, you’re still keeping active and fit. Get to the gym and keep yourself in good shape.
“With para athletes, it depends what you’re able to do, so access what you’re able to. But for me, a big thing is making sure your cardio levels are good. If you’re doing long days on the hill, day after day after day, you have to have that cardio base there. So things like riding your bike, where you can do sprint sessions so you’re working the leg muscles, but you’re still getting that overall cardio input. Anything you just enjoy just getting outside and doing something really.”
Prepare and visualise a performance
“On a race day we’ll get up at the crack of dawn, get breakfast, and then do the athletes’ activation. This is to make sure they’re nice and warmed up before we get going to the venue. Then once there, we do our warm-up session again, replicating what we’ve just done but this time on the snow.
“And then, ahead of a race, there’s the course inspection. So we go down and check out the course. Everyone gets to look at it. Then I try to help them imagine doing it. Using visualisation before a race is a huge point. If you’ve done it in your head before you go down, it’s a lot easier, especially for some of the athletes. It feels like you’ve already done it.
“Then it’s the first run. I get more nervous now than I did when I was racing. And I get that four or five times over, depending on how many athletes I’ve got! But after the first run, I’ll go back and meet the guys for a bit of a debrief, and give them a bit of feedback. And then we’ll repeat the process for run two, as they change the course depending on which discipline it is. So again, memorise and visualise the course, and go again.”
Be up-to-date on the latest equipment and technology
“There are numerous bits of equipment now, and the technology is advancing quite quickly. There’s still a way to go, but in terms of where we’re at, it’s quite good. So if you’ve got an athlete that’s paralyzed, has a spinal cord injury, or can’t control their lower limbs, then you’ve got the sit ski. It’s like a bucket that you sit in, which is attached to one or two skis, depending on your ability. Then you’ve got two outriggers used to stabilise, and it allows you to be independent on the slope. It’s really cool.
“It used to just be a fiberglass seat to sit in, which was really basic and it was freezing cold. But now you can get moulded carbon-fibre ones with padding in it, and individually-fitted. It’s pricey, but I think the more advances there are, the lower the price will come down.
“For visual impairments, there’s a Bluetooth headset that you use to communicate with the guide. The advancements mean that it doesn’t cut out all the time, it’s clearer, and it’s got noise cancelling for the wind.”
Be adaptable to individual challenges
“With able-bodied athletes, they’re all pretty similar and they can all do the same things. With a group of para athletes, each individual can be so different. So if you’ve got an upper limb missing, how is that going to affect your ability to separate over the outside ski?
“The challenge often relates to how to get our para athletes access to accommodation or ski slopes. So we’re always looking into what’s the chair lift situation? Is there a T-bar? Are the athletes going to struggle on that? Things like that are an enjoyable challenge.”
Get involved as athlete or coach
“Step one is to get down to your local ski slope. I’m pretty sure every ski slope now has access to skiing for para athletes. You’ve also got the charities like Disability Snowsport UK (DSUK) and, if you’re from the armed forces, the Armed Forces Para Snow Team (AFPST) is a really good one. They’ll lead you to where you need to go and answer any questions that you need on that.
“Your local ski slope will have all the equipment which you can rent. Then if you like it you can look at buying your own skis, but there is different funding there to help. So it’s just a case of exploring it, but DS UK are very good at getting people involved.
“If you’re already a coach, you can look at doing your adaptive level as well. You can even do that if you’re not a coach. Just go to your national governing body, whether Snowsport England, Scotland, or Wales, they all run adaptive courses. It’s pretty simple. And if you’re ever unsure, just drop them an email or give them a ring and they’ll point you in the right direction.”
