Recently, senior Owen Sowers has found a new passion: coaching Special Olympics basketball. Although he had known about the program for years, he only recently decided to get involved. Through coaching, Sowers says he has discovered a meaningful way to give back to his community while also connecting with his family.
“I’ve always loved working with kids, and my when my brother started playing Special Olympics basketball, my dad coached him and asked if I wanted to help him,” Sowers said. “The kids I coached were always excited to be playing basketball and they were always super fun to be around and work with.”
Before stepping into a coaching role, Sowers already had some basketball experience. He used to play himself and still watches games in his free time. This background helped him understand how to run practices and what was expected of him as a coach.
“[In order to become a coach], I didn’t have to get any certifications or anything like that,” Sowers said. “I would just be at practice and help get all the kids to listen, focus and play. Sometimes it was hard to get everyone to listen, but it helped that I was closer to their age so they would pay attention.”
Sowers attended practices at Mt. Auburn Church every Monday, with games typically scheduled on weekends. The team traveled to places like Wabash and Fishers throughout the season. He coached the junior team for Johnson County, and despite the busy schedule, he enjoyed every moment.
“My favorite thing about this experience with the team was getting to play and practice with the players, and also coaching them as well,” Sowers said. “I really enjoyed the practices because I would get to play with everyone, and ultimately it was really fun. Everyone really improved throughout the year, and we ended up getting second in the state tournament.”
While he has also volunteered at the Top Soccer at SCSA for special needs kids and adults, Sowers claims that this experience stood out to him the most.
“I was very surprised by how quickly the athletes improved and how competitive they were,” Sowers said. “I expected it to be more laid back but everyone was very focused during practice and competitive during games. The team was also very positive which contributed to the environment of everything.”
As a way to celebrate his team’s accomplishments, like when they earned second in the state tournament, they all got together at the end of their season for a fun party.
“We had a get-together at the end of the season and all the parents, players and coaches went to one athlete’s house and it was such a fun time,” Sowers said. “We all played pickleball, whiffle ball and football. One of the athletes even brought their Pokémon cards to show us all.”
Since finishing his season with the team, Sowers has had a lot of time to reflect on this experience and he has realized the team helped him in more ways than one.
“I learned that being a good coach doesn’t just mean helping the team to win, but that it was more important to grow personal connections with the players and to make sure they had fun,” Sowers said. “This experience showed me how powerful encouragement can be.”
After being involved with the Special Olympics program in a few different ways, Sowers realizes how important this program is to so many people, and he hopes to continue making a difference in people’s lives.
“I would one hundred percent do this again. This was one of my favorite experiences I’ve ever done with sports,” Sowers said. “I would recommend this to anyone thinking about volunteering too. It’s such an amazing experience and you will feel so rewarded in doing this.”
