Sam Marcotte

About Sam
Sam Marcotte is the founder of The Senders and President of Simple Snowboarding Inc. and SNDR Freestyle Skiing Inc. He has spent more than 20 years coaching freestyle snowboarding and developing athletes, coaches and programs from the grassroots level through national and international pathways.
Originally from Napier, New Zealand, Sam grew up surfing before discovering snowboarding at 16 after moving to Methven, where his father worked at Mt. Hutt. He progressed quickly into competitive snowboarding, eventually competing nationally and internationally while also training as a ski and snowboard service technician.
After a serious knee injury changed the direction of his competitive career, Sam began coaching at Georgian Peaks in Ontario in 2003. As Freestyle Head Coach and Terrain Park Manager, he helped develop both the club's freestyle program and the training environment around it. In 2007, he founded Simple Snowboarding to create a pathway for athletes who wanted to continue progressing beyond the traditional club system.
That program eventually expanded internationally, including several years operating in New Zealand, and later evolved into The Senders. Over the years, athletes developing within these programs have progressed to National Teams in Canada, New Zealand and the United States, with alumni going on to compete at the Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cups, X Games and other major international events.
Sam has worked as both a primary and collaborative coach throughout the careers of athletes including Mikey Ciccarelli, Tyler Nicholson, Liam Brearley, Cameron Spalding, Lyon Farrell and William Buffey. From 2017–2019, he was also contracted by Canada Snowboard as a Next Gen National Team Coach, working with emerging high-performance athletes at international training camps and competitions.
Coach development has been equally important. Sam has worked alongside and helped mentor coaches who have gone on to national high-performance programs, including Elliot Catton with Canada and Sean Thompson with New Zealand.
Despite the international results that have come from the programs he has helped build, Sam's approach to coaching remains centred on development rather than results alone.
He believes that good coaching means creating an environment where athletes can safely push their abilities, develop strong technical foundations and gradually learn to make their own decisions. The objective isn't to make athletes dependent on their coach; it's to give them the skills, confidence and judgement to eventually succeed without one.
Today, Sam continues to coach athletes directly while leading The Senders and its snowboard and freestyle ski programs. Whether an athlete's goal is a National Team, their first competition, or simply becoming an exceptional skier or snowboarder, the philosophy remains the same: provide the right environment, the right progression and the right people, and see how far they want to take it.