In 2014, my husband Larry spent eight days in New Jersey as the New York State triathlon coach at the Special Olympics USA National Games, an experience he stated “incredible” and “life-affirming.” As soon as he arrived home, he tried to catch up on his sleep, as he got less than five hours a night for the entire trip. How he got to this nirvana of sleep deprivation is part of Shapiro family lore.

In 1995, Larry announced at the dinner table that he had signed up our family to volunteer at the New York State Special Olympics Summer Games, which were being held at the University at Albany in early June. Our children had been involved in sports for a long time, and Larry recognized that many volunteers had made their swimming, cross-country, and track and field meets possible. He felt the four of us should pay it forward by contributing our time to the intellectually challenged athletes at the state-wide event in the track and field competition.

We enjoyed our experience enough to sign up to volunteer again the following year. While at the games, Larry was asked to help out with the Saratoga County track and field program that met April to June at the Saratoga Springs High School track. Larry’s co-worker also volunteered, and the two of them drove up every Monday and Thursday from downtown Albany. After a couple of years, the two of them extended their time commitment to include helping at local Special Olympics meets.

As the years progressed, Larry took on more responsibilities. He became head coach and held additional practices for athletes who exhibited high levels of skill in an event. He started a cross-country running program, volunteered to coach for the Clifton Park bowling program, and conducted coaching certification classes. Larry knew that his involvement in Special Olympics would give him focus and purpose after he retired. It was shortly before his last day of work that he found out he had been chosen as one of the track and field coaches for the National Games in Lincoln, Nebraska, in July 2010. One of the athletes he coached came home with silver medals in the 1500 and 3000 meter runs. 

Along the way, Larry had convinced me and several friends to become track and field coaches, and we all gained much from our participation. The best part for all of us was being with the athletes at practice. Twice a week every spring, over forty athletes ranging in age from eightto seventy-five years old, several coaches, and numerous parents and group home staff would gather at six o’clock at the Saratoga High school track.  The athletes intellectual and physical challenges ranged as widely as their ages. Larry started everyone off with a team cheer: P-A-C-E-R-S! Then the activities began. On the field, some athletes threw softballs and had their distances recorded by the coaches. A group of stronger athletes worked with a coach on the turbo-javelin and the shot put. Others were practicing the standing long jump. On the track, athletes, depending on their levels and abilities, were taking part in runs, walks, and wheelchair events. The visually challenged ran twenty-five meters holding a baton strung through a rope that was held in a straight line by cheering teammates. Practice ended with Larry gathering up the athletes for one more cheer before they went home. Two or three times a season, coaches and members of the team took part in local competitions on a Saturday morning. Whether we were at practices or at our meets, our athletes’ times and distances were secondary to just having fun. The cheers were as loud for the athlete who threw the softball two meters as they were for the athlete who came in first in the 1500-meter run.

Larry took pride in the accomplishments of every athlete and was always recruiting new team members. While helping with Special Olympics bowling during fall 2013, Larry watched an athlete decimate the pins with his powerful swing. Larry persuaded Rob to join track and field and use that strength to throw shot-put and the turbo javelin. By the end of his first season, the athlete impressed officials at the state games in Buffalo enough for Rob to be chosen to compete in the Special Olympics national meet in 2014 in New Jersey. While there, Rob not only won a gold medal in his division in the shot put but also came home with gold in the turbo jab with the longest throw of anyone in the country in the turbo javelin finals.

Saying goodbye to the Pacers when we moved to Florida was one of our hardest moments. (In honor of our athletes, we have named the small body of water in our backyard “Pacer Pond.) But Larry didn’t stop there. A few months after our move, Larry signed on to be an assistant coach for the 2016 Osceola County Special Olympics track and field season. By 2017, he had his own team, and Larry and I spent our Saturday mornings from mid-January to mid-May with our athletes.  He applied all he had learned from his first fourteen years of coaching—the cheers, the participation of every athlete, and the fun. With the enthusiastic help of parents and guardians, every practice had plenty of helpers that made each practice productive. 

And just as he had done in Saratoga, Larry found the best in every athlete. Seeing Karissa had done okay in the 400meter run, he stretched her to the 800 and 1500 meter, resulting in her shining at States and securing places on national teams in Seattle (2018) and Orlando (2022). Christian had participated for years in running events, but Larry recognized he was better suited to the 400- and 800-meter walk, a change that resulted in many first-place finishes for this athlete. Jo-Jo, our visually challenged athlete, got to complete when Larry set up the same rope-and-baton trick he had used in Upstate New York. At practice and at States, cheers of “Jo Jo! Jo Jo! Jo Jo!” accompanied his run. 

Ernest  initially participated in the 100-meter run and the running long jump, in which he competed at States. Then he decided he wanted to do the shot put and the 400 meter run When Ernest was not selected for States in 2025, he took it upon himself to sign up as a volunteer at the games, where he was asked to work at the awards for the track events. When track and field started up again in January, Ernest chose to continue with the shot put but asked to be moved to the 800meter walk. Larry coached him in every event, changing his form and working with him to improve. Ernest was chosen for the 2026 States, where he competed in shot put (1st place) in his heat and the 800meter walk, where he placed first with the fastest walk of the day. Both Larry and Ernest received recognition for their efforts, with their being recognized as Osceola County’s Inspirational Coach and Inspirational Athlete, respectively, at this year’s State Games. 

After twenty-five years of coaching, Larry is hanging up his stopwatch at the end of this season. He absolutely loves his athletes, but he turned 78 in May. In addition, the January through May Saturday morning commitment has resulted in our missing too many of his grandchildren’s birthdays and trips to Colorado and California to see them. We both look forward to turning over the team to a younger coach who has assisted Larry this past year.

In April, the team gave Larry a beautiful team picture with the following note: “Thank you for your years of service, support, and friendship. All your athletes are better athletes and people because you didn’t just show up for them; you invested in them! Enjoy your second retirement! Love, Osceola SO Families.” We will treasure the picture and the note forever. 

Tikkun Olam is a Hebrew expression that means “repairing the world,” a moral principle that states every individual should leave this world better than he or she found it. I take pride in knowing that Larry’s involvement in Special Olympics has been his way of making the world better for so many athletes.