Growing up, I participated in many organized sports. Being part of a team and working together toward a common goal taught me many valuable life lessons. When my now adult children were young, I wanted them to have the experience of being on a team and building lasting friendships, along with learning values that come with being a good teammate, listening to their coach and understanding there is more than winning or losing. The best way I knew to ensure my kids would participate was to volunteer and coach their teams. Even though I have always had busy work schedules, I made a point to make the time to coach both my kids’ teams. I coached baseball, softball, basketball and soccer. I once even coached my daughter’s cheerleading team when the coach was unavailable and no one else would step in.

I loved coaching every team. Coaching gave me the opportunity to get to know the kids. My goal in coaching wasn’t to win every game (we tried); it was to teach the sport and ensure the kids had fun. I always tried to come up with fun ways to learn skills, and I always wanted the kids to laugh and have fun. As my kids got older and went to high school, they played sports on their school teams, and, eventually, I no longer had anyone to coach. I would attend all my kids’ high school games as a parent, sitting in the stands. It was great to see them having fun playing the sport they loved and seeing they were looked up to as leaders. I take pride in the fact both my kids were captains of their respective teams in high school, which hopefully means they were coachable and good teammates. My son ended up playing a sport in college, and my daughter decided to stop after high school. While my son was in college, he ran cross-country and track in the fall, winter and spring each year. I never missed a meet in four years. After my son graduated, I felt as though something was missing in my life. I missed coaching and interacting with the kids. A friend of mine was running a special needs basketball program for young adults, and I decided to help out.

The ACHaD Squadron Basketball program just started its 18th year. ACHaD is short for Achieving Community Hopes and Dreams, a program started in 2008 to support individuals with special needs who just wanted to get on the court and play some ball. The local Jewish Community Center has hosted the program since its inception.

Every Monday night from 5 to 7 p.m., the ACHaD Squadron takes over the gym at the JCC. When the league was founded, the players were divided into age groups. There were two groups: an under-21 group and an over-21 group. Now the groups are separated by ability levels. There are players as young as 14 and as old as 39. All the coaches are volunteers. Some coaches have children playing while others, like me, are friends of the program. The league also receives an influx of youth volunteers (high-school age) who work one-on-one with the players to keep them focused and ensure everyone is having a good time. The volunteers build strong ties with the players, which creates a family-like environment.

The 5 p.m. group, which I coach, is noncompetitive, with a focus on improving skills and having fun. Some players require additional support, sometimes one-on-one, to help them follow the game and understand their next steps. They love it just as much as the competitive group at 6 p.m. Each night starts with fun drills followed by a full-court game. The entire process can be emotional and gratifying to witness. Some players can be a little shy at first. But as they come to trust you, they come out of their shells. When a player scores a basket for the first time, the entire gym erupts with cheers, the game stops, and all the players go over to give high fives and congratulate the person who scored. I’ve been known to get a little emotional as I see the joy these players have for little things we sometimes take for granted.

I’ve been fortunate to have both of my kids volunteer at one time or another over the seven years I’ve been active with the league. My son once mentioned to me he thought it was cool how his friends, whom I coached when they were younger, still call me Coach and how the kids playing in this league now call me Coach. After he said that, I thought about how I hope I’d always be remembered as “Coach” and that I made a small impact on the lives of the kids I coached.

— Sean Olin, director of sales