{"id":22921,"date":"2020-05-15T09:38:12","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T15:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyhinews.com\/?p=64616"},"modified":"2020-05-15T15:17:01","modified_gmt":"2020-05-15T21:17:01","slug":"founder-of-nscd-competition-program-leaves-long-legacy-as-coach-captain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/local-news\/founder-of-nscd-competition-program-leaves-long-legacy-as-coach-captain\/","title":{"rendered":"Founder of NSCD competition program leaves long legacy as coach, captain"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/5_009-683x1024.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/5_009-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/5_009-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/5_009-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/5_009-rotated.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\"><\/p><figcaption><strong>Paul DiBello, the founder of competition program at the National Sports Center for the Disabled, died at age 69 in Aurora from COVID-19.<\/strong><br \/><em>Courtesy of John Weiland<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The founder of the competition program at the National Sports Center for the Disabled was known for his gruff exterior, adventurous spirit and warm heart that led to a long career coaching athletes with disabilities.<\/p>\n<p>Paul DiBello died on April 29 in Aurora of COVID-19. He was 69 years old and left behind a life full of adventure and love for the outdoors, along with his legacy at the NSCD.<\/p>\n<p>Over 6 feet tall, DiBello could be intimidating with his wild beard and rough disposition. Behind that exterior, though, was a passionate man who wanted to share his joy with others, which is why his work at the NSCD mattered so much to him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was very gruff, kind of a bear,\u201d said his daughter, Heidi Mahoney. \u201cBut he had a heart of gold and he just wanted the best out of everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"row shn-donation shn-donation-mobile p-0\" readability=\"7\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/02\/shn-logo-2x-wht.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/02\/shn-logo-2x-wht.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>DiBello spent his life pushing himself to the limit as an outdoorsman. During an ice climbing expedition on Mount Katahdin in Maine, frostbite took a thumb, part of a finger, the tip of his nose and both feet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI saw what it did to his body, but it sure as hell didn\u2019t do anything to his spirit,\u201d said Roanne Kuenzler, who competed with DiBello and knew him for 36 years. \u201cIf anything, it made him stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>DiBello, who was 23 at the time, and five other men were part of a <a href=\"https:\/\/newengland.com\/today\/living\/new-england-history\/mt-katahdin-survival\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">climbing party in 1974<\/a> when a sudden storm trapped them on a ledge overnight in sub-zero temperatures with wind gusts over 100 mph.<\/p>\n<p>DiBello climbed off the cliff the next morning, unable to see from the cold and with legs that felt like wooden stumps. He crawled for several hours before finding a ranger\u2019s cabin.<\/p>\n<p>All but one man, a close friend to DiBello, survived the brutal night. DiBello was hospitalized for almost a year, but he was back to climbing and skiing a little while later.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think after his accident he just wanted to get back to achieving things and not let his handicap define him,\u201d Mahony said. \u201cHe had a drive and a passion.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"p402_hide\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/05_005-683x1024.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-64617\" width=\"512\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/05_005-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/05_005-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/05_005-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/05_005-rotated.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\"><\/p><figcaption><strong>Paul DiBello, who lost both his feet to frostbite in a climbing expedition, was a three time World Disabled Skiing Champion. He went on to coach elite athletes for local, national and international competition at the NSCD.<\/strong><br \/><em>Courtesy John Weiland<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>On the snow<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>DiBello began skiing competitively and won gold in three World Disabled Ski Championships. He collected countless medals in national and international alpine competitions. As a talented skier, he proved disability had nothing to do with skill.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt one point, the judges did not believe he was actually handicapped and made him prove it,\u201d Mahony recalled.<\/p>\n<p>In 1984, DiBello took that talent to the National Sports Center for the Disabled where he developed and directed the competition program. There he went on to train elite disabled skiers for regional, national and international competition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the key thing about Paul was his attitude about athletes with disabilities \u2014 that they shouldn\u2019t be coddled and should be treated just like athletes who didn\u2019t have a disability,\u201d Kuenzler said. \u201cHe felt so strongly about that because that was how he wanted to be treated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The NSCD, in partnership with Winter Park Resort, hosted the World Disabled Ski Championship in 1990 under DiBello\u2019s direction. The international competition, the first of its kind to be hosted in the US, saw nearly 200 elite skiers from almost 20 countries.<\/p>\n<p>Over his 20 years with the NSCD, DiBello\u2019s athletes won more medals than any other disabled team in the world over the same stretch of time. But it wasn\u2019t only elite athletes he coached.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s changed a lot of people\u2019s lives,\u201d Kuenzler said. \u201cPaul changed the lives of elite skiers, but he also coached people with disabilities who would never be on a US disabled ski team and probably never win a race. He cared as much about them as the elite skiers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To DiBello, it wasn\u2019t about the skill level of the athlete, but their attitude.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt didn\u2019t matter what they achieved or what level they got to, just that they had to have that desire to improve,\u201d Kuenzler said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"p402_hide\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/09_033-683x1024.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-64619\" width=\"512\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/09_033-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/09_033-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/09_033-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/09_033-rotated.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\"><\/p><figcaption><strong>Paul DiBello, left, poses with his team during the Colombia Crest Cup at Winter Park Resort in the early \u201990s. Over his 20 years with the NSCD, DiBello\u2019s athletes won more medals than any other disabled team in the world over the same stretch of time.<\/strong><br \/><em>Courtesy John Weiland<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>On the lake<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>John Weiland worked for the NSCD and knew DiBello for over 30 years. One day after the 1990 World Disabled Championships, DiBello called Weiland up to go sailing on Lake Granby.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe never stopped,\u201d Weiland said.<\/p>\n<p>DiBello\u2019s prosthetic feet, when wet, made a squishing noise as he walked around his boat. This earned him the nickname Captain Spongefoot. Sailing was another passion for DiBello, who started a rental company with Weiland as his right hand man.<\/p>\n<p>Weiland described a Fourth of July weekend where no other boat was on the lake \u2014 mostly because of 50 mph winds \u2014 but DiBello was sailing through the weather. Weiland figured that if his friend was having that much fun, they were probably safe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou should have seen him as a sailor,\u201d Kuenzler added. \u201cWhen a storm came, the other boats would go to the shore, but Paul would go right toward that wind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>DiBello went on to start a sailing program on Lake Granby for people with disabilities and then a rock-climbing program for individuals with visual impairment.<\/p>\n<p>Aside from skiing and sailing, DiBello was also passionate about cooking. In 1995, he started the Captain Spongefoot Trading Company, selling award winning sauces for buffalo wings and other food.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019ve had \u2018killer\u2019 chicken wings in Grand County, Denver, Idaho Springs or Golden, they&nbsp;were likely sauced with Paul\u2019s sauce,\u201d Weiland said.<\/p>\n<p>Weiland said DiBello always played with the limits of hot sauce. DiBello would often experiment to see just how spicy he could get his sauce and how much his unlucky tasters could stand.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A survivor<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Pushing the limit \u2014 whether in food or sport \u2014 was how DiBello spent his life, even as life pushed back.<\/p>\n<p>DiBello went on to survive numerous health problems, including broken bones, surgeries, a ruptured appendix that resulted in sepsis, throat cancer and then serious health issues resulting from treatment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the end he was a lucky man and was looking forward with fairly frequent optimism \u2014 a big thing for the grumpy old bear we all knew and loved \u2014 until the virus,\u201d Kuenzler said.<\/p>\n<p>His many friends, athletes and family continue to mourn him and his loss. Some who knew DiBello are working to nominate him for the Paralympic Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n<p>A man who proved time and time again to be a survivor, DiBello spent his life pushing himself to the limit and sharing that ambition with other disabled athletes.<\/p>\n<p>DiBello is survived by his daughter, two granddaughters and three siblings along with his nieces and nephews. His family and friends hope to hold a memorial for him after the pandemic has passed.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyhinews.com\/news\/founder-of-nscd-competition-program-leaves-long-legacy-as-coach-captain\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Sky-Hi News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Paul DiBello, the founder of competition program at the National Sports Center for the Disabled, died at age 69 in Aurora from COVID-19.Courtesy of John Weiland The founder of the competition program at the National Sports Center for the Disabled was known for his gruff exterior, adventurous spirit and warm heart that led to a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22921","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-21 04:15:24","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KRKY Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22921"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22931,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22921\/revisions\/22931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}