By Jack Burden

Florida Southern College has announced the appointment of Jason Seels as its new head waterski coach, ushering in a new era for one of collegiate skiing’s most consistent programs. Seels replaces Curtis Rabe, who steps aside after an influential 11-season tenure at the helm of the Mocs.

Seels arrives in Lakeland with one of the most decorated résumés in international jump skiing. He burst onto the global stage with a gold medal at the 1997 World Games and went on to win multiple professional titles, podiuming at consecutive World Championships in 2005 and 2007. A long-time standard-bearer for Great Britain, Seels is the joint most decorated men’s jumper in European Championship history, with 11 European titles to his name. In more recent years, he has continued to compete at a high level, finding success on the Big Dawg World Tour and at the Over 35 World Championships, where he claimed dual world titles in 2016.

Beyond the accolades, Seels is an experienced on-water coach excited to step into a larger leadership role. In a statement announcing his appointment, Seels said he was “fired up to take the FSC waterski team to new heights—building a strong, competitive program while developing athletes on and off the water.”

Seels succeeds Curtis Rabe, who guided Florida Southern to ten consecutive top-five finishes at the NCWSA National Championships and helped cement the program as a perennial contender. Rabe’s impact extended far beyond results: a Hall of Famer in the Florida Water Ski Federation, he brought decades of experience as a coach, official, and international competitor to the role.

As Florida Southern turns the page, the program does so with considerable excitement—and a deep foundation—heading into its next chapter under Seels’ leadership.