February Parent Newsletter - John Hersey High School

Hersey Teacher
Finalist for
Special Olympics
North American
Coach of the Year
Award
John Hersey High School teacher, Craig Ameel, was recently named one of four finalists for the Special
Olympics North American Coach of the Year. Ameel, a 33 year veteran of teaching, began coaching
Special Olympics 27 years ago because he, “wanted to give my special students a chance to get involved
in sports, like every other high school student can do.”
There were sixteen coaches from across the United States nominated for Special Olympics Coach of the
Year, of which four were chosen as finalists. Ameel was selected as a finalist for the breadth and duration
of his service to Special Olympics.
During a typical school year, Ameel coaches 7 Special Olympic sports including volleyball, floor hockey,
basketball, and cross country skiing. His teams participate in area, district, and state competitions where
they have won 38 team and hundreds of individual State Championship Gold Medals. He has also
coached at the international level including the World Games in 1999 (North Carolina), 2007 (Shanghai,
China), and 2011 (Athens, Greece). He served as the Illinois Head Track Coach for the National Games
in 2006 (Iowa) and 2010 (Nebraska).
For Ameel, the reward for the hours and hard work, “is seeing the individual growth that the
athletes have as people and as competitors. It’s great to see an individual become a contributing
team member - sharing - interacting - all those things add up to make a person more social and
more independent.” And, Ameel’s influence doesn’t end on the athletic field. He has had three Global
Messengers (students trained to give speeches to groups about the benefits of Special Olympics)
come out of the program, and six of his former Partners’ Club members (mainstream students
who volunteer to help the team) have become special education teachers or work in a related
field like occupational therapy.
“I continue to coach because it is an amazing experience every time we practice, compete, and
participate in other Special Olympics events. The opportunity for the athletes to be involved is
vital, and really, life-changing for them. It certainly has changed my life.”
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