Special Olympics School Program Spring 2025

Many thanks to over 65 active volunteer coaches who make this 9-school program possible!


All coaches, please read this Adaptive Coach Training Essentials article and watch this Basic Feeding and Progressions video for an introduction/review of feeding and progression skills in preparation for the training session on Marh 1st at 1pm at Bluffton High School. Hope to see you there! –Coach Wayne

Recommended Lesson Plan for Week 1: HERE

Recommended Lesson Plan for Week 2: HERE

Recommended Lesson Plan for Week 3: HERE

Alternate Lesson Plan: Week 2 or Week 3: Three or Four Stations (volley & serve, groundstrokes, rally and footwork)

Tips for working in stations

  • Three 15-minute (then rotate) stations allows for quick warmup, water breaks, rotation time, no game at end (but do gather for group cheer!)
  • Quick demos at each station (help athletes change gears)
  • Maximum 7 players per station, minimum 2 coaches per station

The Coaching Mindset for Successful Special Olympics Coaching
In our groups, the range of ability is wide and variable!  So… the keys to success are to involve all athletes equally, to equally value all skills and activities, to embrace ability and to celebrate inclusion in our group training sessions.

Video Review of Training Session (excerpts) on March 1 at Bluffton High School

Special thanks to Daniel Rodriguez, from our adult Special Olympics team, for coming out to help me with demonstrations!

Class A Approval

All coaches need to be “Class A” (background check) approved.  This approval is good for 3 years.

New coaches should follow the Class A registration instructions at this page: https://publictennis.org/special-olympics-volunteer-coach-registration/ If you think your Class A approval may have expired, your lead coach should be able to find out when it actually expires.

Coach Training

All coaches are invited to in-person training at 1PM on March 1, at Bluffton High School.  This year we will provide a video (available shortly) for all coaches to review in advance so that the on-court training can be quick, efficient, and focused on active participation working on skills.

Coach TShirts and Hats

Coaches who do not aready have shirts and/or hats should provide their shirt size (and their need of a hat) to their lead coach.

Online Scheduling

If all goes as expected, this year we will have a new online system for managing coach availability by date/week.  An announcement will be made about this in the coming weeks.

Spring Programs and Weekly Days/Times

HHI High School: Tuesdays 11:45 – 12:45

HHI Middle School: Wednesdays 1:00 – 2:00

Bluffton High School: Thursdays 1:30 – 2:30

McCracken Middle School: Mondays 10:00 – 11:00

May River High School: Tuesdays, 1-2PM

Hardeeville School: Fridays 10:00-11:00

Beaufort, Battery Creek and Whale Branch Combined Schools: Fridays 12:00-2:00

Questions, Comments, Ideas: Contact jbtrew2016@gmail.com or wayne@publictennis.org