FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Nanooks Nordic ski team and head coach Eliska Albrigtsen, has announced Ben Buck as the team's newest assistant coach. 
 
Albrigtsen is excited for what Buck will bring to Fairbanks, touching on his knowledge of the growing sport, "We are very excited to welcome Ben to our Nanook coaching family! Ben stood out to us with his deep love for the often so underappreciated side of Nordic Skiing, gear prep and ski service. He's been gathering valuable experience from the new era of ski waxing and his East Coast exposure to much wetter conditions than what we are used to in the Rockies will perfectly fill our demand gaps. I know my student-athletes will find a well reasoning mindset, a great fan and a helpful hand to rely on in Ben; and as a head coach, I cannot wait to gain a good ally to ponder upon new training methods supporting us to bring our team to even more historical bests in the seasons to come."
 
Buck joins the Nanooks after spending the 2021-22 season with Clarkson University, his alma mater. He helped develop a race-day wax testing protocol with ski, regularly making the call on the final race-day wax combinations and helped produce high quality skis for athletes. He also helped the cross country team at Clarkson. He cooperated with the head coach to collect individual split times when accessible and analyzed splits to highlight trends in pacing. Using this information, they dive into athlete development and race strategy. 
 
Prior to joining the Clarkson staff for the 21-22 season, Buck raced for the Golden Knights' Nordic ski team from 2017-2020.
 
Buck added his excitement for this upcoming season and joining the Nanooks as they continue to climb the ranks, "I'm thrilled to be joining an Alaska team that is quickly becoming one of the top Nordic ski teams in the nation. It's an exceptional group of student-athletes led by an exceptional head coach and I'm looking forward to seeing the heights we can achieve together."
 
The Nanooks will officially start their season after New Year's Day. Be on the lookout for more news to come! 
 
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks Nordic ski team, follow @NanookSki on Instagram or Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks XC team page on Facebook.