Up Close: Special Olympics Coach Dan Dillon

By Ryan Lytle

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Dan Dillon of Leesburg works as a basketball coach and program coordinator for the Loudoun County Special Olympics and was recently selected as the 2008 Virginia Special Olympics Coach of the Year.

This father of three began working with the program over 25 years ago and his efforts have been credited for its growth.

In this e-mail interview, Dillon talks about his work with the Special Olympics and the joys of helping others.

Q: You have over 25 years of experience with Special Olympics. How did you first get involved and what is your specific role with the organization?

A: I first got involved with persons with disabilities by helping with a bowling program every Thursday, called the BOAT league (Bowl on a Thursday). Many of the participants worked at ECHO, a sheltered workshop. I then moved on to a few Special Olympics sports like track and field, swimming and ice skating, and then I went to a basketball practice at Simpson Middle School.

Basketball is my favorite sport and after one practice, the previous coach who had done the job very well and for a number of years said that the team was mine, and it's been that way since. That was around 1983. Currently my role is both as a coach, but more so as the program coordinator in helping organize the coaching staff, practice plans, tournaments, transportation and the overall logistics. My favorite part, though, remains the coaching and the games.

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Dan Dillon's Work with Special Olympics

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Dillon spends some time with his team off the basketball court. ()

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Dillon teaches his players skills to succeed on the court. ()

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Dillon teaches a player new fundamentals on the basketball court. ()

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Dillon shows his players the proper way to make a chest pass. ()

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Dillon shows a player where to make the in-bounds pass. ()

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Q: What has been your motivation to be involved with this organization for such a long period of time?

A: My motivation has been to create a real basketball training environment that is appropriate and challenging for all the athletes. Seeing this happen and working with the wonderful athletes, their families, my fellow coaches and the Special Olympics staff from all over the area who are also doing great things, makes every season a new beginning and a revival of last season's fun.

Q:You were recently named the 2008 Virginia Special Olympics Coach of the Year. What did that award mean to you?

A: It meant that I'd been part of something special for a long time, really. Time flies by and we don't realize it until we put numbers on it. It's a great honor and I will be grateful if it brings new participants into the program, but I feel like it is my honor to be able to work with so many great people.

Q: Besides this award, what has been your greatest memory working with the Special Olympics?

A: This award is not my greatest memory and it would be hard to pull one out and say it's the greatest because each memory involves individual athletes and teams, each of which has accomplished something remarkable. To name one without naming all of them would be unfair. But, believe me, we've had last-second three pointers and baskets to win tournaments, athletes who worked years to score a basket and then did, great trips to States and many other events that would fill a very large scrapbook. The greatest memory is the whole thing.

Q: The Special Olympics Oath states: "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt." What has that oath meant to you over the years?

A: It is the basis for our entire approach. If a coach or athlete is not in line with this attitude we work very hard to help them learn it. That is not easy all the time because the competition can be very fierce and no one likes to lose. It's just as hard for the coaches and families to keep it in line too. We try to add a little to the oath to say "let me have fun in the attempt" because over the years if you're not having fun you won't come back and that is also very important to me. Fun and respect.

Q: There's a saying that people who volunteer and give back to the community gain as much or more in return. How do you feel you have contributed to the community in Loudoun and what have you gotten back in return?

A: I think I've contributed a space where some really great people can come together, love basketball and have a great time together. And I've gotten back love and friendship and memories that will never fade. It's been a good deal for me.

Q: The Special Olympics are solely driven by the work of volunteers. How many volunteers work with the Loudoun branch and what has your experience working with them been like?

A: We have about 10 full-time coaches and a similar number of youth volunteers and part-time coaches. The experience of working with my peers is great. We've been very fortunate over the years to have some great coaches walk in the door just when I need them. I don't know exactly how that has happened but it has been a wonderful mystery to me and it keeps me optimistic about the future.

Q: How much time would you say you put into the Special Olympics each year?

A: I don't really know. Probably several hundred but I've never really kept track nor do I want to start.

Q: What do you do for a living outside of volunteering for the Special Olympics?

A: I am the Director of Manufacturing Operations for a Business Unit of Rockwell Collins involved in the Simulation and Training business. We build pilot and maintenance training systems and equipment in multiple locations around the world. My office is in Sterling, which is also the business unit headquarters.

Q: Do you have a family in Loudoun County? If so, where is your favorite place in the county to spend time with them?

A: I have a wife, Lee, and three children, Patrick, 20, Deirdre, 18, and Colin, 15. My favorite place in the county is probably at home with them, cooking ribs on the grill. But I [also] love a hike in the Blue Ridge along the Appalachian Trail.

Q: What do you say to people that are interested in volunteering for the Special Olympics in Loudoun?

A: Try it out before you commit and see if it is right for you. It is important to find a place and an environment that allows you to really enjoy what you are doing. Once you're having fun, that will be the right thing for you to do. If you cannot commit to a consistent presence it is best to look for individual events you can help at. Coaching is a commitment to be there for the athlete, and develop that athlete and that relationship so take it seriously when you decide what to do. If it's not right for you there are lots of other great things that need to be done. There's never something that does not need to be done to help someone other than yourself.

Q: What's something about yourself that your colleagues would be surprised to know?

A: My colleagues at Special Olympics know me pretty well by now, but for everyone else they would probably be surprised that my favorite part of basketball is practice. I read books about John Wooden and how he believed that coaching is about the journey, not the destination when it came to basketball and life. He's my hoops hero and, believe it or not, one of his former players, Gary Franklin (Lucketts), was a coach for this program. That just shows the kind of people who step up to volunteer in Loudoun.

Tagged: basketball, Leesburg, special needs, special olympics, sports, Up Close, volunteers, youth sports

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