Story By Kris Dufour (With Margeaux Matz '27 and Ben Wick '28)
Cover Graphic by Caroline Reichert '28

AMHERST, Mass. - Every Sunday morning, long before most of campus has awoke, a group of Amherst College student-athletes gathers on the field or in the gym to take part in one of the community's most meaningful traditions. For two hours each week, they coach, cheer, and connect with Special Olympics athletes from the Amherst, Northampton, Deerfield, Granby and Greenfield areas -- athletes who span generations, abilities, and personalities, but who share a love of sport and a joy for being together.

The program, which runs soccer practices in the fall and basketball in the winter and spring, brings together 5-10 Amherst student-athletes each week from teams across the department. Some volunteers come every Sunday; others join when they can. Regardless of how often they attend, they quickly discover that the experience offers something rare: a chance to step outside the Amherst bubble and build genuine relationships rooted in encouragement, patience, and play.

"Special Olympics has been a super meaningful experience for myself and many other guys on the lacrosse team," senior captain Thompson Lau noted. "The energy and joy that the athletes bring to every practice is extremely inspiring, and it has been really cool to build relationships with the players over the past several years. Their constant positivity is a great example of the fun and excitement that should come with playing sports."

Each practice blends structure with spontaneity. Amherst volunteers help lead warm-ups, organize drills, and coach small-sided games. They celebrate every shot, every pass, every moment of progress. Over time, the consistency of the program allows relationships to deepen. The same Special Olympics athletes return each week, greeting volunteers by name and forming friendships that last far beyond a single season.

The diversity of the group -- athletes of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds -- creates an environment where everyone learns from one another. Amherst student-athletes often find themselves interacting with peers from other teams they rarely cross paths with during their own competitive seasons. The result is a community that grows in multiple directions at once.

Both junior Margeaux Matz, a women's lacrosse player, and sophomore Ben Wick, a men's lacrosse player, have served as the Head of Community Outreach for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee at Amherst. Under that umbrella, they have been coordinating the Special Olympics program, which requires both logistical precision and emotional investment. Reserving field and court space, communicating with Special Olympics coaches, and recruiting volunteers from across Amherst's varsity teams are all essential pieces. But the heart of the role lies in showing up -- coaching, encouraging, and building trust with the athletes week after week.

The impact is unmistakable. 

One Special Olympian, who began the fall season quiet and hesitant, needing constant one-on-one support, ended the winter basketball season confidently scoring baskets and engaging with teammates. Watching that transformation unfold is a reminder of why the program matters.

The Special Olympics partnership at Amherst traces back to 2013, when Elizabeth Black '16 of the cross-country team brought the idea to longtime Amherst administrator and coach Billy McBride, who currently serves as an associate athletic director. 

For McBride, the mission resonated deeply.

His own connection to athletes with disabilities began in college, when he spent a summer working closely with two young athletes. He bought them plaques to honor their perseverance, and years later, one of them approached him to express how profoundly that mentorship had shaped his life. McBride's empathy was shaped even earlier -- he didn't speak as a child until he was paired with a blind classmate who inspired him to communicate and taught him braille. That experience instilled in him a lifelong appreciation for learning from people who may seem different on the surface but share the same human need for connection.

Since launching the program at Amherst, McBride has expanded its reach. In March of 2023, Amherst hosted the NCAA Div. III national championships on campus. As part of the community outreach tied to the event, McBride purchased eight bicycles with his own money, disassembled them, and had Amherst and Special Olympics athletes work together to rebuild them -- before donating the finished bikes to the Holyoke Boys & Girls Club. "Giving helps the receiver, but giving also helps the giver," McBride often says, a philosophy that guides every aspect of the program.

Over the years, McBride has built lasting relationships with athletes like Wally, who began participating at age 12 and is now in his 50s, and Sydney, who once asked McBride to be her dance partner in a fundraising competition. They won the "Terrific Teamwork" award and helped raise more than $70,000.

What makes the Special Olympics program at Amherst so powerful is not just the athletic development or the weekly routine -- it's the community that forms around it. The athletes look forward to Sundays with unmistakable excitement. Volunteers leave feeling energized, grounded, and reminded of why they fell in love with sports in the first place.

Student volunteer, sophomore Andrew Berkowitz of the men's swimming & diving team, reflected on the simple joy of shared passion:

"I really enjoyed coaching the Special Olympics athletes in soccer and basketball," he noted. "The enthusiasm of the athletes was contagious, and we were able to bond over our love of sports. In a world that often emphasizes competition, achievement, and separation, the program offers something different: a reminder that sport can be a bridge, a teacher, and a celebration of what we share."

As McBride put it, "The power of realizing you have so much to offer the world can embrace the rhythm of the community. We all have a story. We all have something to give."

And every Sunday morning in Amherst, that truth comes to life.

* This article is in conjunction with the NCAAs Div. III Week, which runs April 6-13. This year is the 15th anniversary of the NCAA and Special Olympics. The partnership between Special Olympics and NCAA Division III was established in 2011 through the leadership of the NCAA Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to enrich the lives of both Division III student-athletes and Special Olympics athletes through their shared passion for sport. Since then, more than 110,000 Division III student-athletes and 160,000 Special Olympics athletes have participated in Unified experiences, contributing over 650,000 hours of service and raising more than $600,000 to support inclusion through sport. The 15th anniversary design was created with input from the Division III National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Special Olympics athletes and Bobby Jones, a Special Olympics athlete from Virginia and communications coordinator for Special Olympics North America.