Craig Daily Press

Craig — Except for the sound of clinking metal, the Moffat County High School weight room was quiet Wednesday night.

Murals of menacing-looking bulldogs glowered down at siblings Josh and J’Lea Dalton and their coach, Billie Chase, as they prepared for the work ahead.

As J’Lea situated herself on the padded bench press seat, Chase helped her lift the 45-pound bar from its stand. He watched as she slowly lowered the bar, fit with two 5-pound weights, toward her chest.

“Just enough to wake up the muscles,” he said, watching her closely as she lifted and lowered the bar 10 times.

Chase comes to the weight room for two hours a night, three nights a week, to help prepare Special Olympics participants, including the Daltons, for an upcoming competition.

Like other Special Olympics coaches, his work is volunteer based and unpaid.

If you ask him why he does it, his voice becomes quiet, and he squarely meets your eye.

“You’ll never have a feeling like you have now,” he says. “There’s no way.

“The amount of spirit that everyone has here — you’ll never feel it anywhere else.”

Special Olympics, a nonprofit organization, provides 30 summer and winter sport competitions for adults and children with disabilities, according to the organization’s Web site.

The games, which are modeled after Olympic competitions, were created for a distinct purpose: “Empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities to become physically fit, productive and respected members of society through sports training and competition,” according to the Web site.

Chase has been a Special Olympics volunteer for seven years. This year, his specialty is coaching weight training. His son, Matt, is slated to coach track and field this year.

Chase and his son are two of about 25 Special Olympics volunteer coaches, assistants and chaperones in Moffat County, said Julie Fite, Special Olympics Colorado western area manager.

These positions are “crucial,” Fite said, adding that the volunteers impart teamwork and sportsmanship values while they train the competitors physically.

That’s not to say that the volunteers don’t face hurdles along the way.

Maintaining a balance between coaching and other obligations is the first obstacle local volunteer coaches face as they prepare the competitors for their regional competition.

This year, Special Olympics competitors from Grand Junction, Steamboat Springs and, possibly, Cheyenne, Wyo., are scheduled to meet for a competition in Craig on May 9 and 10.

But, finding and retaining coaching staff could make preparing for that competition difficult. Conflicting work schedules prevent some volunteers from attending the practices, Chase said.

Finding time and space to practice also can prove problematic. The two hours Chase has reserved for his competitors isn’t immune to disruptions.

“A lot of times, we’ll be lifting, and we’ll have this scheduled for two hours then … other people will come in and it messes up the whole routine,” he said. “It’s the same with swimming — it’s open swimming while they’re trying to train.”

Securing enough money to pay for the annual state competition in Greeley also can be a problem.

Chase couldn’t estimate how much the two-day event, scheduled for May 31 and June 1, will cost. But, add up motel rooms for at least four athletes, three meals a day and round trip fuel and the excursion gets expensive, he said.

Most of the competitors host fundraisers to pay for the trip.

Regardless of any obstacles, Chase thinks the event is worth the effort he and other coaches put into it.

The pride he has in his participants is “outrageous,” he said.

“They work their butts off,” he said. “They’re here every night I’m here. Sometimes, they beat me here.”

What’s the payoff for hours spent practicing in an empty weight room, on a track field or in a swimming pool?

The same reward that Chase gets for training them: Pride.

“If they get a gold medal, it’s like winning a thousand bucks,” Chase said.

“It makes me feel good” to coach the event, he said. “It’s awesome to see the smiles on their faces.”