Swiss coach Zueger to join Miller’s Team America

Bode Miller will be trained after the competitions in Beaver Creek by Swiss Fritz Zueger, the former technical coach of the women Swiss team and also former trainer with Marc Girardelli.
    Zueger left the Swiss team last spring after disagreements with head coach Hugues Ansermoz and has been looking since for another job on the World Cup tour.

BODE MILLER will be trained after the competitions in Beaver Creek by Swiss Fritz Zueger, the former technical coach of the women Swiss team and also former trainer with Marc Girardelli.
    Zueger left the Swiss team last spring after disagreements with head coach Hugues Ansermoz and has been looking since for another job on the World Cup tour.
     Miller is currently coached by Johno McBride and Forest Carey, former U.S. national team coaches. Both remain part of Miller’s staff, but McBride’s wife is expecting another baby in December, so McBride wants to stay with her in December, and Miller was looking for somebody experienced to replace McBride for a while.
    Dr. Martin Duppenthaler, CEO of Go Fast Sports (Europe) AG, which is a main sponsor of Miller’s Team America, found out after talking recently with Zueger on the phone that he was still looking for a job, so he helped set up a meeting between Zueger and Miller.
    “It was really nice to meet Bode and chat with him for a while. He is a great skier and I’m proud to have the chance to work with him,” Zueger explained in an interview with Switzerland’s skionline.ch Web site.
    “It’s like to suddenly become the soccer trainer of Real Madrid,” he added. “Miller is a perfectionist who spends much time in finding the best adjustments for his equipment and training. It’s certainly the most exciting situation I can think of right now.”
    The Swiss coach will begin his job at Bad Kleinkirchheim in early December.
     “Bode has put together a great team and I aim to soon find my spot there, and hopefully everybody will be pleased with my job so I could stay for a while,” Zueger said.
     A very passionate and emotional person, Zueger has been working for decades on the World Cup tour, first as service rep and then assistant trainer with Helmut Girardelli in the late 1980s. He also was training the strong men Swiss team around Michael von Gruenigen, the multiple giant slalom World Cup champion and two-time world champion (1997-2001).
    Zueger benefits from a great network of connections and also is known as a hard worker. “I think I can bring an interesting contribution regarding training facilities and other items of that kind,” he explained. “I’m really happy now.”
 
— Mario Rall contributed to this report