A coach for countless: Gray relishes longtime role as Special Olympics coach

By Cameron Montemayor

Sheri Gray remembers a time when she was one of, if not the only, Special Olympics coaches in the St. Joseph area 15 years ago.

“So much has changed,” she said. “At first, you know, there might be 30 people at a St. Joe event … But now there’s 150. It’s great.”

Gray, a longtime softball coach, mom of four and head coach of the Northwest Tornadoes Special Olympics Team, rarely sees a day now where she isn’t helping with the organization and one of the 60 athletes she coaches annually across four sports. 

The St. Joseph native was first introduced to Special Olympics through volunteer work while pursuing her degree in physical education at Missouri Western State University. But it was her daughter’s desire to join Special Olympics football that brought her even closer to the sidelines helping in whatever ways she could, from scorekeeping and refereeing to eventually becoming a head coach.  

“My daughters started playing softball and it was awesome. I have never ever stopped doing softball since,” Gray said. “I’ve been doing softball I think for 15 years with Special Olympics. And then bowling, basketball, track and field just came up.”

From young kids to adults, Gray has thrived by building relationships with countless athletes over the years and working with each of their strengths.

Time and time again she’s seen how the sport and the social bonding it provides can help someone come into their own.

“I have kids who truly when they started here with me, when they were 9 or 10 years old, they wouldn’t talk to anybody … give them a year and they’re best friends with somebody,” she said. “It’s awesome. That’s why I do it. I love to see them grow and be better people.”

Now in the winter season, she and her assistant coaches run basketball practice on Tuesdays at the InterServ Youth Center and bowling on Wednesdays at Revolutions Lanes. Basketball practices consist of drills for passing, dribbling, shooting and layups while mixing in a combination of fun and staying engaged.

With bowling, she’s taken several teams to the state tournament.

Logan McClintock, a freshman at Lafayette High School who has been with Special Olympics for eight years, has long had a playful sibling-like relationship with his head coach.

“We like to make fun of each other,” he said jokingly. “She likes to have fun with other people, make sure people are not left out.”

Like Gray, he’s also seen an increasing number of people join the program since he came into it, allowing him to build new friendships along the way.

“Sometimes we just have fun and do all that fun stuff but we take it seriously,” he said.

She relishes working with athletes in a variety of different settings between basketball, bowling, softball and track and field, but her true passion lies with softball, a sport she coached for 15 years before joining Special Olympics.

Much like a longtime teacher, decades of coaching have brought hundreds of people into the program and her life. She never gets tired of running into former athletes and learning about the life they’ve built.

“I’ve had so many kids through the years I can’t even tell you how many I’ve had,” she said. “I definitely can tell that I have gotten older. They make me cry a lot now where I didn’t used to.”

Gray’s impact extends to the families of the athletes, where she looks for opportunities to build relationships and make them a part of the Special Olympics family.

“On Friday nights, we do a mom’s night out and we all just go out and hang out. No kids, no husbands, just us. And it’s a lot of fun. This is our third one,” she said.

When Gray isn’t working with the athletes and families one-on-one, she’s communicating with the local Special Olympics office on Gene Field Road and filing out needed paperwork.

She’s amazed at the success of Savannah powerlifter Charlie Philips and what he was able to accomplish in June at the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, claiming three silver medals and one bronze. Gray first met Phillips about 15 years ago when he was about 11 years old.

Phillips’ success story provides a strong motivator for numerous athletes in the area to look up to.

“To watch Charlie on the news and to see him at the World Games and to see him interviewed was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” she said. “That is somebody I know and that could be one of my athletes in 10 years. That’s amazing.”