Bob Flynn acknowledges the cheers in Alumni Gym in October 2015 during a Back to �ֲ���ý event celebrating the naming of donor-funded, renovated alpine and Nordic ski rooms in his honor. (Josh Kuckens/�ֲ���ý College)

Robert C. “Bob” Flynn, a three-sport head coach at �ֲ���ý who elevated the skiing program to national prominence and whose warmth and loyalty to his athletes embodied “the force, the spirit, and the iconic Bobcat zen” of �ֲ���ý athletics, died July 31, 2016, at age 83.

Appointed as an assistant coach of football in 1965, Flynn served as head coach of skiing from 1968 to 1990 and as head coach of baseball from 1991 to 1999. He was also head coach of golf for 19 seasons, retiring after the fall 2015 season.

“As a coach, Bob Flynn had an exceptional wealth of knowledge about skiing, baseball, and golf,” said Director of Athletics Kevin McHugh. “And all that knowledge was wrapped into the kindest human being you can imagine — someone who used his life to help countless students in three different sports.”

In her announcement to the college campus, President Clayton Spencer described Flynn as a fierce competitor who “also coached his athletes with great loyalty and unabashed kindness, and displayed unfaltering goodwill to colleagues, competitors, and members of the Maine and national sports communities.”

Bob Flynn’s vast sports knowledge was “wrapped into the kindest human being you can imagine — someone who used his life to help countless students in three different sports,” said Director of Athletics Kevin McHugh. From 2013, Flynn joins the �ֲ���ý Nordic skiers in celebrating the Chummy Broomhall Cup as the top Nordic team in Maine. (Photograph by Steve Fuller ’82)

A member of the Auburn-Lewiston Sports Hall of Fame, the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Maine Ski Hall of Fame, Flynn is credited with elevating the college’s skiing program to the national prominence it continues to enjoy today under his successors, including his daughter, current Nordic head coach Rebecca Flynn Woods ’89.

In 1968, Flynn took over a resurrected varsity ski program that had been dormant since enjoying success in the mid-1900s. Flynn not only moved �ֲ���ý into the Division I ranks by 1972 — aggressively recruiting the best Maine skiers along the way — but then audaciously worked toward hosting the NCAA National Collegiate Skiing Championships.

In 1976, he succeeded in that goal, and the meet came to Maine with �ֲ���ý as host. Dave Irons, a ski industry reporter since the 1960s, recalls telling his editor that the NCAA meet was coming to Maine. “He asked, ‘Is that big?’ And I told him, “Well, when’s the last time they played the Rose Bowl in Maine?”

In resurrecting the dormant �ֲ���ý ski program, Bob Flynn (right) audaciously worked toward hosting the NCAA National Collegiate Skiing Championships. (Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library)

Irons, a director of the Maine Ski Museum who chairs its Hall of Fame Committee, has watched Flynn work his magic through the years.

“He was always persistent,” Irons says. “There aren’t many college ski coaches who would even think about hosting the NCAAs.”

A native of Lewiston, Flynn was an outstanding athlete in football, hockey, skiing, and baseball at Lewiston High School.

Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates, he from 1952 to 1957, missing the 1953 and 1954 seasons to serve in the U.S. Army in Korea. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine in 1960 and taught public school in Lewiston and Auburn before joining the �ֲ���ý coaching staff.

A longtime assistant football coach, Bob Flynn watches the Bobcat linemen go through warmups in 1981. Though a determined taskmaster, wrote a �ֲ���ý Student sports editor in 1965, “Coach Flynn was never unjust or impersonal to his players.” (Steve Fuller ’82 photograph)

He made an immediate impression, so much so that �ֲ���ý Student sports editor Jon Wilska ’67 devoted his end-of-season column to the rookie line coach.

“Coach Flynn is a hard taskmaster,” Wilska wrote, but “for all his determination in making his linemen work and his impartial criticism, which was always offered constructively, Coach Flynn was never unjust or impersonal to his players and he gained the highest respect of those who worked for him.”

Across all his sports, “it just didn’t matter to him who you were,” says Irons. “He was nice — period. He would not say anything bad about anyone. And if you asked him to do something for you — he chaired our hall of fame selection committee — he would do it, with knowledge and dedication.”

Then an assistant coach, Flynn congratulates pitcher Bob Sprague ’82 after an upset victory over Amherst in the 1982 ECAC tournament. (Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library)

A former president of the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association and chair of the NCAA Skiing Rules Committee, Flynn received the EISA Service Award for his “significant contribution and continuing support of skiing in the United States.”

A �ֲ���ý faculty member in the Department of Physical Education, Flynn was professor emeritus of physical education.

At his induction into the �ֲ���ý Scholar-Athlete Society in 2015, Flynn was honored for his many years of “encouraging �ֲ���ý athletes to participate in all �ֲ���ý had to offer. Most of all, he has assisted �ֲ���ý students in challenging themselves.”

In October 2015, the college named its newly renovated alpine and Nordic ski rooms in Alumni Gym in Flynn’s honor. At the dedication event, McHugh said that Flynn was “the force, the spirit, and the iconic Bobcat zen” of �ֲ���ý sports.

Whatever the sport, “it just didn’t matter to him who you were. He was nice — period,” says Dave Irons. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Irons attended the event and spoke with many in the huge crowd. “They all agreed that one of the great experiences of their lives was having Bob Flynn as a coach,” Irons says. “I’ve heard that not just last fall, but for years and years. Every kid who skied for him knew that he would go all the way for them.”

One of those skiers was Steve Fuller ’82, now a �ֲ���ý trustee. Speaking at the October dedication, he said that “Bob’s impact came in the form of access.”

Fuller recalled meeting Flynn at a regional ski meet in Andover, Maine. “He introduced himself, asked if I was going to college, and mentioned �ֲ���ý.” To which Fuller replied that college might be a longshot: “No one else in my family had been to college, and I honestly wasn’t sure if I could make it work.”

To which Flynn said, “Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out.” For Fuller and so many others, “we’ll figure it out” meant the opportunity to receive Flynn’s “unwavering confidence in us as athletes and as human beings.”

And that applied for every athlete in every sport.

Steve Fuller ’82, who took this photo of Bob Flynn, said that Flynn had “unwavering confidence in us as athletes and as human beings.”

On the eve of their famous upset of Amherst College in the 1982 ECAC baseball tournament, Bob Sprague ’82 was sitting in on a pre-game lunch between the Amherst coaches and the �ֲ���ý coaches, Chick Leahey ’52 and his assistant, Flynn, who worked with the Bobcat pitchers.

“The Amherst pitching coach was telling Coach Flynn about his rotation for the rest of the ECACs — basically saying we weren’t a challenge,” Sprague recalls. “Then Flynnie stands up, says, ‘You have to get by us first!’ then stalks off.”

Sprague and the Bobcats answered Flynn’s challenge, beating Amherst in 10 innings, with Sprague going the distance.

John Morrissey ’94, a former Bobcat baseball captain who is now director of alumni relations and head baseball coach at Middlesex School in Concord, Mass., says that while Flynn knew the game inside and out, “his big thing was loyalty to his players.”

That loyalty was often exhibited with an ebullience that his players cherished.

In a game vs. Hartwick College his junior year, Morrissey hit the first home run of his organized baseball experience, a dream-come-true shot that won the game in the ninth.

“I rounded third, where Flynnie was coaching, and he was more excited for me than I was. I’ll always hear what he kept saying: ‘Isn’t this exciting!’”

His survivors include his wife, Benita Flynn; daughters Elizabeth Flynn P’14, P’17, Susan Flynn Dorris ’85, and Rebecca Flynn Woods ’89, P’20; grandchildren Zachary Abbott ’14, Abigail Abbott ’17, Jenney Abbott ’17, Heidi Scheehan, Tyler Dorris, Emma Woods, and Kaelyn Woods ’20; and nieces and nephews, including Brian Flynn Jr. ’82. He was predeceased by brothers Brian Flynn ’57 and Larry Flynn.

Making his fourth appearance at the NCAA Skiing Championships, senior Sylvan Ellefson (Vail, Colo.) didn’t quite get the results he wanted, but he put forth an outstanding showing nonetheless and was a major factor in �ֲ���ý’ five-athlete contingent placing 13th overall at the championships, the Bobcats’ fourth consecutive top-15 showing at NCAAs.

Ellefson felt under the weather at Thursday’s 10K Classical Technique race, but he gutted out an 18th-place finish, covering the course in 25:34.4. On Saturday, on another beautiful day at Black Mountain, with a large representation of �ֲ���ý supporters, Ellefson came in 12th in the 20K Freestyle race, narrowly missing his second career All-America honors, awarded to the top 10 finishers.

“I was so happy coming to the finish, but at the same time, it’s the end of my college career. So it was a little bit sad, but awesome all at the same time,” he said. “I’m happy with how I finished. The thing that made my day was the people from �ֲ���ý that were here today; seeing all my friends and people from the crowd, it was really fun having people here.”

Ellefson’s senior teammate Sam Evans-Brown (Gilmanton Iron Works, N.H.), making his first NCAA appearance, also moved up on his second day, placing 27th in the freestyle after coming in 36th in the classical race. Sophomore Natalie Ruppertsberger (Plainfield, N.H.) also competed well on the women’s side, giving Ellefson two Nordic teammates at NCAAs after two straight years of being the team’s only representative at nationals. The �ֲ���ý trio teamed up with alpine teammates Liz Thompson and Micaela Holland to represent �ֲ���ý skiing in admirable fashion all week.

While Sylvan Ellefson ’09 hasn’t banished sweets or Commons crispitos from his diet, he has honed an understanding of what his body needs to perform at peak level.

“I was definitely not conscious of eating a balanced diet my first year here,” says Ellefson, a Nordic skier from Vail, Colo., who won All-America honors at last year’s NCAA Skiing Championships. “But in the past two years I’ve really realized what it means.”

With the Bobcats hosting the 2009 NCAA Championships, March 11–14, and with �ֲ���ý in the midst of its yearlong focus on food, Ellefson and his teammates have ample reason to make �ֲ���ý Dining Services an honorary member of their team.

“Commons does a great job of providing us with the food we need for how we train,” Ellefson says.

For example, when the Nordic team travels during carnival season, their van carries Commons-provided snacks like granola, breads, fruits and yogurt for immediate post-race nutrition. “Your body recovers more quickly if you get food right after a race,” explains Nordic teammate Sam Evans-Brown ’09.

When it comes to establishing healthy food routines, the teammates support each other, says head coach Becky Flynn Woods ’89. “It’s about getting into the right habit. For example, the skiers racing later in the day will take time in the morning to prepare food, like PB&Js, for everyone to eat right after the races.”

Nordic skier and teammate Nicole Ritchie ’09, twice an All-American rower as well as a skier, has become conscious of her food choices for another reason. “A friend is doing a thesis that focuses on corn syrup,” she says. “I’ve been reading over her shoulder. The amount of energy going into producing corn syrup is pretty disgusting.”

All-American Nordic skier Sylvan Ellefson '09 wears a St. Christopher medal for a bit of good luck to complement a rigorous training regimen.

While Sylvan Ellefson ’09 hasn’t banished sweets or Commons crispitos from his diet, he’s honed an understanding of what his body needs to perform at peak level.

“I was definitely not conscious of eating a balanced diet my first year here,” says Ellefson, a Nordic skier from Vail, Colo., who won All-America honors at last year’s NCAA Skiing Championships. “But in the past two years I’ve really realized what it means.”

Now, he and his teammates consider �ֲ���ý Dining Services to be part of their team. “Commons does a great job of providing us with the food we need for how we train,” Ellefson says.

For example, when the Nordic team travels during carnival season, their van carries Commons-provided food like granola, breads, fruits, and yogurt. Not for the skiers’ major meals — they get meal money for that — but for quick post-race nutrition. “Your body recovers more quickly if you get food right after a race,” explains Sam Evans-Brown ’09, Ellefson’s teammate.

When it comes to establishing healthy food routines, the teammates support each other, says head coach Becky Flynn Woods ’89. “It’s about getting into the right habit. For example, the skiers racing later in the day will take time in the morning to prepare food, like PB&Js, for everyone to eat right after the races.”

These days, the Nordic team’s training is especially motivated, what with For Ellefson, a Colorado-raised skier not recruited by any Division I schools out West, his competitive cup runneth over. “I’m proud to race as a Bobcat,” he says. “I love it in Maine.”

An alpine enthusiast growing up, Ellefson and his Vail Mountain School soccer buddies took up cross-country skiing to stay in shape during the winter. As a high school sophomore, he won skimeister as the best performer in Nordic and alpine events. By then, he knew his forte was Nordic so he dropped alpine, comparing it to choosing soccer over baseball when, as a little kid, he “couldn’t hit the ball off the tee.” But as a relative latecomer to Nordic skiing, Ellefson came East for college when Division I schools passed him up.

Highly competitive by nature, Ellefson describes his mother, Tashina, as a “tremendous” athlete. His late father, Lyndon, who helped found the sport of skyrunning — high-altitude, long-distance running — died in 1998 when, on a training run near Cervinia, Italy, he fell into a hidden snow crevasse, dropping 75 feet to his death.

Sylvan Ellefson is well-aware of his father’s reputation as a highly motivated competitor who pushed himself hard. “I feel that if I can do something really well, I can carry on his legacy,” he says. “In my case that’s Nordic skiing.” Looking ahead to his post-�ֲ���ý racing career, he wants to “get to that level,” referencing the accomplishments of Nordic alums like Justin Freeman ’98, a 2006 U.S. Olympian, “and then do better.”

Ellefson’s specialty is freestyle, like skating on skis, and he earned trips to the NCAA Championships in both 2006 and 2007. Last year was a breakthrough season, as he won freestyle races at the season-ending carnivals at Williams and Middlebury, the first-ever wins for a �ֲ���ý Nordic skier on the Eastern Collegiate Skiing Association circuit. At the 2008 NCAA Championships, Ellefson finished fourth in the 10K freestyle, one of only three Americans, and the only Division III skier, in the top 10.

While Ellefson targets another top-five finish, teammate Evans-Brown, a Spanish major from Gilmanton Iron Works, N.H., is so eager to qualify for his first NCAAs that he spent last summer in Argentina, living with a government official who’s a cross-country enthusiast, so he could train on snow. “I had easy access to skiing and was well-fed,” he says. “Lots of meat, for breakfast, lunch, snacks.”

There, he earned a reputation as “the kid who always eats,” and Evans-Brown estimates that he and Ellefson will take in 6,000 to 9,000 calories a day while training hard. That’s more than triple the typical daily diet of 2,500 calories — if not quite the famous 12,000-a-day regimen of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps.

While the Nordic team tends to frequent Italian restaurants on the road for a good balance between protein and carbs, “what you eat right before a race is not so important, I think,” Evans-Brown says. What’s critical is “fueling yourself well while you’re training.”

At a recent campus meal, Ellefson and Evans-Brown are joined by Nicole Ritchie ’09 of East Dummerston, Vt. Twice an All-American rower as well as a skier, she has begun to avoid processed food. “A friend is doing a thesis that focuses on corn syrup,” she says. “I’ve been reading over her shoulder. The amount of energy going into producing corn syrup is pretty disgusting.”

In the new dining Commons, Ritchie gravitates toward local products: apple cider from Greenwood Orchards, chocolate milk from Oakhurst Dairy, and hamburgers from grass-fed, Cold Spring Ranch beef (see page 16) for her training fuels. She also frequents the vegan bar.

“Making your own food choices takes a lot of different economic and environmental issues into your hands,” says Ritchie. “It’s really cool that Commons supports us in making these decisions.”

By Andy Walter, photograph By Phyllis Graber Jensen