Special Olympics China athlete and coach Ziao Long (with ball) stresses the importance of practice as he helps other athletes and demonstrates basketball skills. Many athletes report that after years of being coached and competing in a given sport, they feel that they have a grasp of the fundamentals of the sport and feel that they might be able to teach that sport to other athletes.  Sometimes they become assistant coaches, sometimes they just become the athlete who the coach knows he or she can call on to demonstrate a skill. After years of participating in the same sports, many athletes report that they are looking for new activities and challenges.  Allowing athletes the option to formally move into coaching gives them an opportunity to continue their involvement with Special Olympics in new and challenging ways.  Athletes as coaches, such as Fan Gin-Chia (Michael) of Special Olympics Chinese Taipei, also provide a new source of reliable volunteers to help expand Program offerings in sports that the athletes are most interested in. How can athletes as coaches help a Special Olympics Program? When communities and other athletes see Special Olympics athletes stepping up to assistant coach and head coach roles, they see our movement as inclusive and cutting edge.  When athletes see an opportunity to grow and take on new roles, it keeps them from getting bored and dropping out of Special Olympics. Note: An "Athletes as Coaches" workshop is available from Special Olympics. Contact Dave Lenox (dlenox@specialolympics.org) for more information.