Mitch McDermid is the President and CEO of Catalyst Sports Holdings Inc. and the driving force behind the vision, growth, and continued evolution of Catalyst Performance Camps Inc. With more than 22 years of coaching experience, a PL certification in Coaching, and a Level 2 CSIA certification, Mitch brings a powerful blend of athletic perspective, business leadership, and operational discipline to the organization. A former high-performance athlete, Mitch has built Catalyst around a clear philosophy: athletes with serious competitive ambitions need a structured, professional, and performance-driven environment to truly develop. That philosophy has shaped Catalyst’s approach to coaching, program delivery, and long-term athlete progression. With a background in business and technology consulting leadership, Mitch has helped position Catalyst to scale with purpose while maintaining a high standard of coaching quality and operational excellence. Central to his vision is the integration of sports performance data, AI, and predictive analytics to enhance coaching techniques and elevate athlete development. By leveraging data-informed insight alongside elite coaching principles, Catalyst is working to create more individualized development pathways, improve performance analysis, and support more predictive models of athlete growth over time. Mitch remains closely connected to all aspects of the business, regularly joining the team on the road to stay engaged with athletes, coaches, and program execution. Under his leadership, Catalyst Performance Camps Inc. continues to grow as an innovative, performance-focused organization committed to building better athletes through excellence, structure, and forward-thinking development.

Role to be filled in 2026

Sami was born and raised in the Western Italian Alps. He spent 15 years in Collingwood ON, and currently calls Kamloops BC home in Canada, and Italy in the off season as he helps direct Catalyst High Performance Camps operations in Europe. As the former Athletic Director and FIS Head Coach at the National Ski Academy in Collingwood ON., Sami was instrumental in helping guide the competitive direction of many high performance athletes during his tenure at the NSA. He currently is the FIS Head Coach in Sun Peaks, BC and continues to grow the presence as Head of the North American distribution for LISKI Sport Equipment as President of Fortynine51 Sami holds full Canadian and European Coaching certification and plus a Masters Degree in Sport Business. Sami directs the European Camp Operations for Catalyst and is a influential contributor to the direction of Catalyst Performance Camps and the Global Racing Program expected to launch in 2026. His input and experience as a coach and business man has been valuable to the growth of Catalyst.

Brian McGregor is a highly respected high-performance ski racing coach with more than two decades of experience developing athletes across all levels of the competitive pathway. He has held key coaching roles with some of Canada’s most established programs, including the National Ski Academy, Toronto Ski Club, Osler Bluff Ski Club, and Jozo Weider Racing. Across each of these environments, Brian has built a reputation for blending technical precision with a professional, athlete‑first mindset that consistently drives performance gains. Fully certified at the Performance Level with Alpine Canada and holding a Level 3 designation with the Canadian Ski Instructors’ Alliance, Brian brings advanced technical credentials to every training session. His commitment to excellence has been recognized provincially, most notably when he was named Alpine Ontario’s Coach of the Year in 2017. Over the course of his career, he has guided numerous athletes to success at the provincial and national level, including multiple U14 O‑Cup provincial champions. Brian’s coaching philosophy is built around three pillars: safety, fun, and holistic development. He is deeply focused on technical and tactical growth on snow, but equally committed to instilling core values such as respect, accountability, resilience, and consistent effort. His athletes are encouraged not only to ski faster, but to think and behave like high‑performance performers—on the hill, in the gym, and in everyday life. Known for clear, proactive communication and a collaborative approach with both athletes and parents, Brian creates a training environment where expectations are understood, feedback is actionable, and athletes feel supported in taking the next step in their development. With a lifelong passion for skiing and athlete advancement, he continues to make a meaningful impact on the Canadian ski racing community and strengthens Catalyst Performance Camps’ position as a destination for serious, performance‑driven athletes.

Role to be filled in 2026

Alberto Belfi brings more than three decades of elite-level racing and coaching mastery shaped in the Italian Dolomites. Beginning his journey under his father—a respected ski instructor—he progressed through the competitive Ski Club Cortina system before earning placement on the Regional Federal Team of FISI Veneto. His foundation was built on disciplined technical development, tactical clarity, and the structured training environment that defines elite Italian alpine performance. As a former professional skier with the Fiamme Oro Military Team and the U.S. Pro Tour, Alberto pairs firsthand racing experience with deep technical expertise. Holding Italy’s highest-level Federal Ski Coach Level 3 certification, he brings internationally recognized mastery in advanced ski technique, race-line optimization, biomechanics, and athlete development systems. His qualifications include an Alpine Ski Master Diploma from Bolzano, reinforcing his technical credibility and academic grounding. Throughout his distinguished career, Alberto has coached at every level—from youth athletes to World Cup preparation. His work with the Slovak National Ski Federation during the lead-up to the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games stands as a testament to his capability on the world stage. Across Europe and North America, he has earned a reputation for delivering precise, effective, and individualized coaching that resonates with athletes seeking real performance improvement. At Catalyst Performance Camps, Alberto serves as a cornerstone of the coaching team. His coaching philosophy centers on long-term progression, technical mastery, and the structured development pathway of “Learn to Train, Train to Train, Train to Race, Train to Win.” He elevates Catalyst’s technical standard through meticulous analysis, clear communication, and an unwavering dedication to athlete excellence.

Role to be filled in 2026

Fabrizio Cavallari is widely recognized as one of Italy’s most respected alpine ski coaches, known throughout Europe for his deep technical expertise, diagnostic precision, and ability to elevate athletes across all levels of competitive skiing. With more than 30 years of coaching and racing experience, he brings a sophisticated understanding of technique development, high-performance training, and athlete mindset preparation. Holding Italy’s respected Level 2 Coaching Certification, Fabrizio has built a strong reputation for transforming technical ability into race-ready performance. His coaching philosophy is rooted in the belief that technical mastery fuels confidence and competitive results. Fabrizio blends biomechanical understanding, tactical decision-making, and refined movement analysis into an integrated training approach that produces measurable improvement. Known for his calm, analytical coaching presence, he excels at translating complex concepts into simple, actionable guidance that athletes can immediately apply on snow. At Catalyst Performance Camps, Fabrizio strengthens the program as a senior technical authority and race-development leader. His work focuses on edge control, dynamic balance, turn shape, and tactical intelligence—fundamentals that define high-calibre alpine performance. Athletes benefit from his individualized correction system, targeted progression plans, and ability to quickly identify the adjustments needed for substantial on-snow gains. Fabrizio’s extensive European experience, combined with his passion for mentoring athletes, makes him an invaluable asset to Catalyst. His presence elevates the technical standard of every camp, ensuring athletes receive world-class coaching rooted in experience, precision, and a deep commitment to high-performance excellence.

Jason “Carp” Carpenter brings nearly four decades of coaching experience—and a true performance-first edge—to Catalyst Performance Camps. He started teaching skiing in 1986, backed by a competitive hockey foundation that forged the mindset he coaches with today: disciplined preparation, relentless work ethic, and the ability to raise standards when it matters most. Known for his technical clarity and athlete connection, Carp has a gift for turning “good skiing” into race-ready skiing—movements that hold up at speed, under pressure, and on the clock. Jason’s coaching pedigree runs in the family. His father was a world-class coach who played a meaningful role in the growth and development of multiple Olympic and World Champion athletes—an influence that helped shape Jason’s standards, perspective, and belief in what deliberate, long-term development can unlock. That generational foundation is a major reason Carp’s approach is both technically precise and performance-driven: he understands how athlete development evolves, and how today’s fundamentals become tomorrow’s podium-level execution. A CSIA Level 3 Instructor, certified and trained Development Level (DL) coach, and actively progressing toward Performance Level (PL) training, Carp blends deep technical expertise with a modern Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) lens. He believes the performance pathway is built early—especially in the Nancy Greene and U12 “Learn to Train” stages—where fundamentals must become automatic, and confidence must be earned through purposeful reps. His coaching emphasizes the essentials that create faster skiers: clean ski-snow interaction, balance and alignment, powerful yet efficient transitions, disciplined line choice, and a tactical understanding of how to carry speed—not just create it. At Catalyst, Carp will be a key leader within our U12 Development Camps across North America, building the technical base and race habits that set athletes up for long-term success. He will also support U14 Performance Development, helping athletes bridge the critical transition from skill-building to performance execution—where training becomes more intentional, speed becomes more real, and athletes begin moving onto high-performance timelines. In this transition phase, Carp focuses on sharpening the details that separate developing racers from competitive racers: consistent movement quality, stronger decision-making, resilience after mistakes, and the confidence to attack with control. Carp’s coaching style is structured, energetic, and standards-driven—yet always positive and athlete-centred. He creates an environment where young racers feel supported to take risks, challenged to level up, and proud of the progress they earn. The result is athletes who are not only technically stronger, but mentally tougher: composed in the start, adaptable on the track, and motivated to keep pushing. Off the hill, Carp is a dedicated family man. He’s proud of his wife, Theresa, and his son, Charlie, who is following in his footsteps and currently working toward his own DL certification. For Carp, coaching is more than a role—it’s a long-term commitment to mentorship, character, and building young athletes who thrive in sport and life. With a genuine love for skiing and a relentless belief in what focused development can unlock, Jason “Carp” Carpenter is exactly the kind of performance coach Catalyst is proud to have on snow.

Nino Handžić brings more than 10 years of international FIS-level coaching experience to Catalyst Performance Camps, with a background built in structured high-performance environments across Europe and North America. Throughout his career, he has worked with competitive athletes in demanding ski racing programs, helping develop the technical skill, tactical awareness, discipline, and competitive mindset required for elite-level performance. His coaching experience has been shaped through extensive work in some of Europe’s premier ski racing destinations, where daily exposure to high-level training environments has strengthened his approach to technical precision, race preparation, and long-term athlete development. These experiences have given him a deep understanding of what it takes to prepare athletes for the physical, mental, and tactical demands of top-level competition. Nino also spent two seasons in Canada as Lead Coach of the Vancouver FIS Ski Team, where he gained valuable insight into the North American race system and athlete development pathway. During this time, he further developed his expertise in season planning, competition structuring, and guiding athletes through progressive stages of performance growth within the Canadian ski racing model. He currently serves as Head Coach at an academy in Gstaad, Switzerland, where he leads the organization, strategic development, and progression of ski racing programs across multiple age categories. His role includes overseeing athlete development, building coaching structures, and designing comprehensive training and competition programs that support both immediate performance goals and long-term success. In addition to his academy leadership role, Nino spends a significant portion of the summer training period on the Hintertux Glacier, working privately with FIS athletes on technical refinement, performance consistency, and building a strong foundation heading into the race season. This hands-on work in an elite glacier training environment reinforces his commitment to detail, repetition, and performance execution at the highest levels. Nino holds an ISIA Level 3 certification and a Canadian Coach Level 2 license, combining strong European technical foundations with North American high-performance methodology. His coaching philosophy is centred on long-term athlete development, technical excellence, discipline, accountability, and helping athletes become confident, mentally strong, and independent competitors. For Catalyst Performance Camps, Nino brings an international high-performance perspective, a disciplined coaching approach, and a deep commitment to helping athletes elevate their skiing and competitive potential.

Marco Cavallari is a dynamic performance coach who brings a unique blend of Italian technical discipline and North American race-program experience to Catalyst Performance Camps. Holding Italy’s Level II Coaching Certification, Marco has established himself as a skilled technician with a strong foundation in athlete development, movement refinement, and progressive training methodology. Marco’s coaching experience includes serving with the Whistler Ski Club in British Columbia—one of Canada’s premier high-performance alpine programs. Working with elite U16 athletes, he played a key role in refining technique, supporting race preparation, and guiding junior athletes through the critical transition from skill development to performance execution. This experience allows him to seamlessly integrate European fundamentals with the structure and expectations of the North American racing system. Within Catalyst Performance Camps, Marco focuses on developing athletes who are advancing from foundational skills toward more sophisticated, race-specific execution. His coaching emphasizes clean movements, precise body control, and the disciplined application of fundamentals under speed—qualities essential for long-term athlete success. His ability to quickly assess athlete tendencies and build targeted progression plans makes him especially effective with developing racers. Marco’s international experience, technical insight, and athlete-centred approach make him a strong contributor to the Catalyst coaching team. His presence supports Catalyst’s mission of delivering world-class coaching that prepares athletes to excel with confidence, discipline, and technical excellence.

Peter Hibbard, known throughout the ski community as “Coach Turbo,” is a highly respected development-performance coach with more than three decades of experience helping athletes advance their skiing, racing, and overall confidence in the sport. A 36-year member and veteran of both the Canadian Ski Coaches Federation and the Canadian Ski Instructors’ Alliance, Peter has dedicated his career to building strong athletes and successful programs through technical excellence, structure, and an unwavering passion for development. Having led numerous Masters and Junior ski programs throughout Ontario, Peter is recognized for his ability to create progressive, performance-oriented training environments that challenge athletes while supporting long-term growth. His coaching style combines technical clarity, practical race insight, and a deep understanding of how to help athletes continue improving at every age and stage. For the past 18 years, Peter has led the Masters Race Program at Blue Mountain Resort in Collingwood, where he has helped shape a culture of progression, discipline, and enjoyment for Masters athletes committed to improving their skiing and race performance. He also serves as Lead Coach for Catalyst Sport Sciences Masters Camps at Sun Peaks Resort, where his experience, energy, and athlete-first mindset make him an integral part of the Catalyst coaching team. Peter’s background also includes many years teaching in the Snow Resort Operations Program at Georgian College, along with serving as Head Tennis Pro at The Osler Bluff Summer Club. Across every coaching environment, he brings leadership, enthusiasm, and a lifelong commitment to helping others perform at a higher level. Based in Meaford, Ontario, with his wife Mary Lou, Peter remains deeply connected to the regional ski community through both family and sport. His experience, character, and proven coaching leadership make him a valued part of Catalyst Masters Performance Camps and a trusted mentor for athletes striving to elevate their performance on snow.

Role to be filled in 2026