The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. This gives the athletes continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

The San Francisco Special Olympics softball program is open to any person eligible for participation in Special Olympics.  We emphasize teamwork, good sportsmanship and the Special Olympics oath, “Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”

Every coach is an unpaid volunteer, receiving no compensation who participates for love of the sport and the joy of training our athletes.

Our San Francisco softball program usually includes about 45 athletes with a wide range of skills and abilities.  We run 8 Saturday morning practices at Balboa Park in San Francisco starting June 29.  Our season concludes with a two-day tournament (August 24 and 24) in Walnut Creek.

It’s not necessary to have exceptional softball skills, knowledge, or experience.  Basic softball skills and knowledge are usually adequate.  You don’t need coaching experience or specific training working with persons with intellectual disabilities. We have great group of experienced coaches to mentor you plus online training to get you started.  If you are at least 14 years old, have a love for the sport, time to commit, and a willingness to make a difference, you can help us change lives.  This will be my 16th season coaching the softball program, this may be the most rewarding thing you have ever done.

To start, go to https://www.sonc.org/becomeacoach where you can fill out an online application, initiate a required background check, and complete an online orientation program.