GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — For the past 50 years, the name Bill Dombrowski has been synonymous with Special Olympics Michigan. The longtime coach started in the 70's leading Track and Field, but he had a vision of more — team sports meant to bring people of differing levels of ability together for one goal: fun.
"We were in a small very tiny gym, and we had basketball players, athletes, that they said couldn’t play basketball," Coach Bill remembers. He says every day he steps onto the court feels like the very first.
"He was told that these guys couldn’t play together in a team sport," said assistant coach Steve Smoes. "He proved them wrong."
Smoes has coached alongside Bill for three years. Over the decades, many people have worked with Coach Dombrowski to create an inviting environment where everyone feels like they have a spot, regardless of who they are.
"He gets everybody involved, whether they’re on the court, someone does the announcing, somebody keeping score is one of the fans," said Carl Lorenz, whose been coaching with Bill for 12 years.
As a game takes place on the far court at the Special Olympics Inclusion Center in Grand Rapids, a poster board sits at the entrance of the gym. Made by Alison Moore, a former player on Coach Dombrowski's Buffaloes team, pictures spanning Bill's entire career show a timeline of unwavering compassion and dedication.
"As we began to play, I began to learn from them," Bill said. "Learned compassion, learned empathy, learned that you don’t have to always win." Those in Bill's life say he's immensely humble, always looking for someone around him to praise rather than be talked up himself.
"I look up to him and I hope that I can do similar," said assistant coach Andrew Campbell. "One of the biggest things I’ve learned from him his patients and understanding for every single individual."
Campbell says anyone that's been involved with Special Olympics Michigan Basketball will know Bill's name. He says it's likely to stay that way, because Bill isn't ready to walk away just yet.
"One of the athletes that’s on our team his name is Steve," Coach Campbell said. "Steve’s been playing with Bill for all 50 years. Bill literally said to him when you quit, maybe that’s when I think about quitting."
"Its hard not to keep going," Bill said, echoing Campbell's sentiment. "Because they’re my friends."
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.