Issue date: Sept 26, 1999

In this issue:
Detroit: Robert Brown, basketball
Paso:Joseph Griego, soccer
Bridgeport, Conn.: Howard Hornreich, basketball
Buffalo: Elizabeth O'Donnell, skating
Jenks, Okla.: Allan Trimble, football
Most Caring Coach Runners-up
USA WEEKEND'S Most Caring Athletes

Most Caring Coaches
Each year, readers nationwide nominate coaches for USA WEEKEND magazine's Most Caring Coach Award. Judges Boomer Esiason, Doug Flutie, Michelle Kwan and Duke's "Coach K," Mike Krzyzewski, chose these five 1999 honorees to receive $500 for their teams.
by Laura Greenspan

Detroit:
Robert Brown, basketball

Robert Brown, 39, uses his personal experiences to inspire and challenge. He overcame a physical disability to be a high school basketball star, got a college degree despite dyslexia and conquered drug and alcohol addictions. In 1996, he opened the gym at Loyola High, where he's head basketball coach, to give kids a safe place to play in the summer. Since then, his United Youth 2000 program has expanded to include entertainment, motivational speakers, free T-shirts and a nutritious lunch for as many as 250 kids. Brown has collected coaching awards but prefers the thanks of former students. "The frustration is just getting young guys to understand how valuable their lives are."

El Paso:
Joseph Griego, soccer

Many of Joseph Griego's community youth-league players live in a poor neighborhood that reminds him of the place where he grew up -- and got into trouble. To make sure the boys on his under-13 team don't do the same, Griego, 43, invites them to his home on weekends, where they play ping-pong and jump on a trampoline. He checks report cards, contacts parents if academic problems arise and finds tutors if needed. Griego also has improved the kids' soccer skills; last year, the team came in second in a state tournament. Still, he says, "Winning isn't the most important thing; it's seeing these kids turn around and be so positive."

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Bridgeport, Conn.:
Howard Hornreich, basketball

As basketball coach at Columbus Elementary, Howard Hornreich ("Mr. H."), 29, drives kids to and from games and practices. He has dug up grant money to pay for uniforms, renovate the gym and start a girls' basketball team. He seeks scholarships to summer basketball camps, then drives kids there daily. He also expects team members to serve the community. Attendance at neighborhood cleanups is mandatory; service projects include nursing-home visits and a clothing-and-food drive. Hornreich hopes people will say of his players, " 'That's a good kid' more than 'That's a great basketball player.' Although if they can say both, that's great."

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Buffalo:
Elizabeth O'Donnell, skating

From Ice Capades performer to skating instructor, Elizabeth O'Donnell saw her dreams come true. She had just one problem: "I was bored." The boredom disappeared when she founded SABAH (Skating Association for the Blind and Handicapped; 716-883-9728), which now serves 800 people with physical, mental and emotional handicaps. More than 10,000 people have gone through the program in the past 23 years, learning to glide over the ice with special skates, harnesses and walkers designed by O'Donnell; 32 people have learned to walk. O'Donnell, 45, teaches with the help of 1,200 volunteers. Her secret? An "I can do it" attitude she instills in others and a refusal to let anyone accept the limitations of a disability. "I can't think of a better gift," says board member Jayne Rand.

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Jenks, Okla.:
Allan Trimble, football

For the past three years, head football coach Allan Trimble, 36, has encouraged his Jenks High School football team to host a dinner honoring students participating in the Special Olympics. The students also get rousing applause at the football team's huge preseason pep rally. "You don't normally see a bridge forming between high-achieving, normal-functioning students and Special Olympians," says Dana Bundy, whose son Nikolos is a Special Olympics runner. Trimble's players have raised $1,000 for the Special Olympics and $1,650 for an opposing team's cancer-stricken quarterback; they also read regularly to Jenks elementary school students. "It's important to encourage kids to give back to society," Trimble says. "A lot of people these days don't slow down enough to give back."

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Most Caring Coach Runners-up

Guilford, Conn.: Nicole D'Andrea D'Andrea, 16, has coached Special Olympics track and field since she was 10. She runs certain races with her athletes (even if it means running 14 miles at once) because they feel more confident with her at their side.

Detroit: Bryant Tipton Gompers Elementary School teacher Tipton, 39, started a basketball team at the school to help motivate kids. He washes uniforms and warm-up suits himself. After each game, win or lose, he pays for dinner out for the kids.

Pensacola, Fla.: Teresa Wright Wright, 38, makes it her business to know what's happening in the lives of her Escambia High School volleyball players and help out if needed. She checks report cards every six weeks throughout the year. The penalty for not making the grades? Running laps.

Mobridge, S.D.: Byron Utter Utter, 41, is revered in this small town for rescuing a moribund recreational softball program and turning it into a focal point of community life, providing wholesome fun for children ages 5-17.

Clover, S.C.: Duane Krapf Krapf, 43, built a softball diamond (known as "Duane's World") in his back yard to give his community-league team of teen girls a place to practice. Every year, he hosts a parent-child softball game and picnic in his yard. Still, family and schoolwork always come first.

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PHOTO CREDITS: Brown, Santa Fabio; O'Donnell, Rob McElroy; Trimble, Sherry Brown; Griego, Rudy Gutierrez; Hornreich, Gerg Raymond for USA WEEKEND.