A Peterborough native who first carved turns on the slopes of Temple and Crotched Mountains coached three Chinese athletes this month in the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.
While none of his Chinese National Snowboard Team members won medals, Sam Hulbert said he was proud of their performance. “They’re all young and have at least another cycle of training in them if they so choose to compete in the next Olympics,” he said.
Hulbert said he’s hopeful for the team’s future. “China only started investing in a slopestyle snowboard team leading up to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.” He said most snowboarding athletes are now coming of age. “A lot of the kids who started snowboarding in 2018 and 2019 will be eligible to compete in the next Olympics, so there will be a greater pool of athletes prepared for competition.”
For Hulbert, the experience was special and emotional. “Getting to see the athletes use what they’ve worked so hard to develop at the Olympic level and do it comfortably and competitively, it was a special thing to be a part of that process.”
So how did a 1990s kid from Peterborough find his way into the 2026 Olympics, coaching the Chinese Big Air and Slopestyle snowboarding teams? For Hulbert, it started at Temple Mountain.
“I didn’t start snowboarding until 1998. Before then, I’d ski at Temple Mountain with my parents,” the 36-year-old said. After Temple Mountain closed, Crotched Mountain opened, and it was there that Hulbert’s passion for snowboarding took root.
Hulbert, Brandon Reis and two other friends helped build a snowboard park at Crotched. “Then we’d compete against one another and push each other,” he recalled.
Hulbert took to the international snowboarding circuit with Reis, who’s also from Peterborough, right out of ConVal High School in 2007. It was through international competition that Hulbert was introduced to Chinese culture.
“When I was competing between 2010 and 2016, I’d go to China every year for snowboard competitions,” he said. “It was hosted by a really great group of people who I became great friends with.”
Once he finished his competitive career in slopestyle snowboarding, he started coaching and judging competitions, including the Winter X Games and international events.
He heard about a coaching position with the Chinese national team, applied, and was hired just before the pandemic shut everything down.
“Once COVID hit, I thought I’d leave China for a few weeks, but it ended up being a couple of years.”
In 2023, he reconnected with the Chinese national team and was offered a job coaching athletes for the Olympics.
He attributes his success as a snowboarding coach to growing up in Peterborough. “By having Crotched Mountain so accessible to Peterborough, I was really fortunate,” he said. He also cited the important influence his parents and Olympic snowboard coach Bill Enos had on him.
“My parents’ open-mindedness to letting me follow my dreams while offering a support system made it possible to pursue this pathway,” he said, citing their love for the outdoors as an additional factor.
Hulbert said that when he was 17 and growing more interested in snowboarding, he went to Waterville Valley to be coached by Enos.
“I learned a lot from him,” Hulbert said, adding that he has applied many life lessons from Enos to his own coaching style.
At the Winter Games, Hulbert coached three snowboarders: Two men, Yang Wenlong and Ge Chenyu, and one woman, Zhang Xiaonan. A fourth woman didn’t compete in the final five qualifying competitions due to a health issue.
Zhang took fifth place in the Big Air competition. “She’s only 19 and incredibly talented. She’s going to be really good, the best I’ve ever seen her do was at the Olympics,” Hulbert said.
Hulbert’s coaching style isn’t one-size-fits-all. “Athletes are individuals, so I don’t set a strict training plan,” he said. “I stay aware of how they’re feeling by watching them snowboard.” He said if an athlete isn’t feeling well, he reduces the training load; if they look comfortable, he pushes them.
As an American coaching a Chinese sports team, Hulbert had to work to overcome the language barrier. “I enjoyed the challenge of trying to learn the language and learning about a new culture,” he said. “I can communicate on a basic level with the athletes and know them well enough to where I can address major concerns despite the barrier.”
For young Monadnock region athletes pursuing big dreams — even dreams of Olympic gold — Hulbert said they should first enjoy the sport while they can.
“Don’t worry about the next step, just dive in and enjoy it. The right steps will come that allow you to push it to the next level if you so choose,” he said. “You need to be passionate to perform at a high level, so find mentors and, most importantly, find a friend to do it with.”
When not traveling around the world with his athletes, Hulbert spends his time with his partner Caroline and their 3-year-old son Finn at their home in Oslo, Norway.
“My partner is from Oslo, so it made the most sense to move back to where her family is so that she isn’t alone with Finn while I’m away at work,” he said.
Now that the Olympics have concluded, Hulbert will spend much-needed downtime with Caroline and Finn.