November 23, 2005
Bodjack receives special honor
Sandy Bodjack recognized as state Coach of the Year for her three decades of helping Special Olympics
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Sandy (Sam) Bodjack has a big heart.
The East Bay Township resident has been working as a volunteer coach for the Special Olympics since 1975. On November 4, the state organization recognized Bodjack as Coach of the Year for her three decades of helping special needs athletes realize their dreams. They also inducted her into the Special Olympics Hall of Fame, one of two people chosen for that honor this year.
Bodjack received these honors after being chosen from among 400-500 coaches in 39 areas statewide.
"I was blown away, it was great," said Bodjack. "I just can't say enough about Special Olympics, it's a family, really."
From getting involved by accident while an assistant swim coach for the Trojan swim team, Bodjack got hooked from her first competition. She spent her first career teaching swimming at the Grand Traverse County Civic Center. After retiring, she moved over to work with autistic children at the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District.
For years, Bodjack ran TBA's swim program, sparking her involvement with special needs children. She smoothly segued to training swimmers of all ages and abilities during the annual eight-week period leading up to the summer Special Olympics swimming events.
"The athletes get a tremendous amount out of it," said Bodjack, who with her husband also coached Special Olympics softball for four years. "They learn what it is to compete and, if they lose, they learn sportsmanship. Second, some of these kids have never been out of their hometowns before so they get to travel."
Bodjack's first Special Olympics swimming team featured four athletes, three of whom she still runs into around town. As with many of her former swimmers over the years, she noted how excited they are to see her and that others call her up to ask how she is doing. Bodjack always asks the athletes if they are still involved in swimming or other sports, hoping that they carry a love of the activity even if they do not participate in Special Olympics any more.
Over the past three decades, Special Olympics has bloomed in the five-county area around Traverse City. With a roster of 400 athletes, the region boasts about 230 active participants in the program at the local level. The training season is now year round and features 14 different events in local summer and winter games, including swimming, track and field, skiing, show shoeing and bocce. Twenty-three sports are offered statewide with different areas offering different events.
Special Olympics area director Sheila Blonshine is a fan of Bodjack's coaching and commitment, both from her administrative perspective and as a parent: Bodjack trained her son for decades.
"He's 39 years old and has been involved in Special Olympics since he was nine or ten," Blonshine noted. "He's pretty much done anything Area 2 [the local area] would do."
Blonshine is a firm believer in the Special Olympics mission and knows first hand how important the sports events are to the participants.
"They get to be an athlete and compete with people of their own level and age group," she said. "Not just sit on the sidelines, watching."
Over the decades, Bodjack has attended many state competitions to cheer on local athletes who have qualified to go. Twice she accompanied athletes to international Special Olympics competitions, both held in the United States but featuring athletes from around the world.
The state level Special Olympics - with approximately 900 athletes in the winter games and 2,000 in the summer games - are a pageant that nourishes her soul.
"If you ever get a chance to watch the march of the athletes into the stadium, it is something," Bodjack said. "I've been watching them for so many years and it still gives me goosebumps."