Volunteers are the backbone of Special Olympics Pennsylvania. Without our volunteers, we’d never be able to provide competition, leadership, health and so many other opportunities to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout Pennsylvania.
Congratulations to Jason Rice, from Montgomery County, for being named our Volunteer of the Month for December 2024!
Jason has been a Special Olympics Pennsylvania athlete for nearly three decades. Throughout the years, he’s uncovered his love for sport and how it’s shaped him, his family, and his everyday life.
Before the passing of Jason’s father, Garrett, they knew Jason was on a path to lead other athletes. They created coaching training as a family so Jason would have the opportunity to become an Athlete Coach.
Jason’s position as a coach means many things. To guide his fellow teammates, to shine as a leader, to work alongside some of his favorite coaches, but above all, to follow his father’s footsteps and coach in his father’s memory.
In this month’s volunteer feature, learn more about Jason’s time as an assistant coach for the Montgomery Warriors, his relationship with his father, and what he’s taken away from this experience.
Thank you for all that you do, Jason! We are so proud of you and the leadership you provide. Congratulations!
“I got involved with Special Olympics Pennsylvania when I was 16 years old. I’m 44 now. I have been part of it for quite some time. How I got started was I had friends I was going to school with in 1996. They got me in it.
When I first started, I went to Summer Games for track and field. I’ve done track and field, basketball, bowling, volleyball, and softball. I like volleyball. Years later, after I retired from volleyball after doing it for 12 years, I decided to be a coach.
I retired in 2010 because I had such a busy work schedule. I work at Neumann University. I was working until 7:30 p.m. and that’s when I thought about being a coach…
The reason I continue to participate is because my dad was the county manager. Five years ago, he passed away. All the athletes know about this. My teammates were there for me when he passed away.
When they found out, they had emails from all the other coaches. He had tongue cancer. The day of the viewing, they all had to drive a long ways to my dad’s viewing. They all had to do that. Even my girlfriend Katie. She had to drive a long ways. I’ve been with Katie for 16 years.
It feels good to have this community. Ever since my dad passed away, he was my number one supporter. He was like my best friend. Since he watched me compete, he was always there. Since he passed, it’s been hard on me… I know how much I miss my father. He really enjoyed being county manager.
My parents trained me to be a coach back when my dad was still alive. What I had to do was answer a lot of questions and do concussion training in case someone got a concussion. I coach to honor my dad’s memory.
He wrote something under my picture like, ‘He recently was able to complete all the necessary training to become a certified volleyball coach.’
Because some athletes can be certified coaches, and yes, I am one of them.
I watch the other coaches and how they coach the athletes. I thought to myself, ‘Hmmm, maybe I’d like to be a coach for a sport.’
I’ve learned how to keep an eye on the team and make sure they stay in their positions. I show them how to get the ball over the net. I keep telling them, ‘Two hands, not one hand. Two hands are a lot easier to hit over.’
My brother is a coach too, Garrett. He’s Garrett Jr. My dad was Garrett Sr. My brother coaches my volleyball team with me, the Montco Warriors.
I coach athletes well… I’ve been able to coach athletes to gold medals as an assistant coach. I sensed them winning the gold like eight years ago at Villanova. It’s because they played like a team and knew how to win like a team. In, like, the last gold medal match they played in, they creamed this team in the final. Steve Lesse was the head coach and I’m his assistant. I’m like his backup.
It took me a while to win my first title as an assistant coach. One of my players came up to me, Larry, and after they won the gold he said, ‘Hey Jason look, you won your first gold medal as a coach.’
My favorite thing about Special Olympics Pennsylvania is coaching and playing volleyball. I also love in basketball that every time we would win gold at Penn State, my teammates and I would dump water on our coaches to celebrate… I think that’s hilarious.
What inspires me is that I enjoy Special Olympics… Someone told me to stay strong even if it’s hard when my dad’s not around.
We’re dedicating the sports to my dad to honor his memory.”
Here’s what coach Steve Lesse had to say about Jason’s time as an assistant coach:
Jason Rice is an ideal Athlete Coach because the athletes look up to him. They see him as a leader & he has embraced that leadership role. They listen to him & follow his instructions and his lead, both in volleyball as one of our coaches and in basketball where he is our captain and shows the same leadership qualities.
He not only takes his role seriously, he tries to guide others-such as Alex Lesse- his basketball “assistant captain,” to follow his lead and take on the role as a leader.
We have watched Jason grow on many levels since he became a coach in our volleyball program.
