Head coach of the Kimberley/Cranbrook Special Olympics cross-country ski team has won the Grassroots Coach Award.
Special Olympics officials said Kevin Phillips is being honoured for his passion for empowering athletes with intellectual disabilities.
“The real plus of working with Special Olympics is the athletes themselves and the people you meet,” said Phillips. “We don’t really see the disabilities at all, we see ability. It’s fun to challenge people to try a new sport and see how well they do at it.”
Phillips said he coaches between 10 and 12 athletes each year.
“Regardless of how fast or slow you are, we have someone that can pair up with you and spend an hour or two with you,” said Phillips.
He was involved in coaching since 2017.
“We started the program six years ago from scratch. There wasn’t a cross-country program in Cranbrook, so my wife and I started that,” said Phillips. “We started with people skiing at the Mt. Baker school field, and as everyone got better, we ended up at the Kimberley Nordic Club.”
Special Olympics officials said Phillips has gained an excellent rapport with the athletes and coaches.
“He regularly holds coaching meetings to hear from his assistants on how to continually improve the program and to best support each other and the athletes,” said Special Olympics officials. “Together with his leadership, they are able to foster an inclusive program where every participant supports one another and feels like a valued member of the team.”
The Grassroots Coach Award is given to a coach who works to ensure athletes of all ability levels are provided with opportunities to train, improve and compete.
“I felt really honoured because we’ve only been in the Special Olympics for six years,” said Phillips. “My wife and I really enjoy what we do, but the [Special Olympics] program has been going on for almost 40 years, and there are people in other parts of the province who have been involved for 15 or 20 years. I was quite touched that I won the award.”
Phillips said the Kimberley/Cranbrook Special Olympics is always looking for more people to join as athletes, coaches or volunteers.
“To make all these programs work, it’s all about the help you get,” said Phillips. “It’s a very rewarding thing to do, so I would encourage other people to join in if they have any interest in sports at all”