Riley James, a Junior at Barnstable High School and two time Boston Herald All Scholastic gave $1000 to a cause near and dear to her heart: Cape Cod Champs Special Olympics. She won the money from earning the distinction of Gatorade MA Volleyball Player of the Year. Riley went on to win the national Gatorade Play it Forward contest which awarded an additional $10,000! Riley wrote about her friend, Sara, and the programs in Barnstable schools and Cape Cod Champs where she volunteers. Sara is my goddaughter.
Coach Tom Turco led the Barnstable girls volleyball team to 18 Division One State Championships, the most wins in Massachusetts girls’ volleyball history. Turco established adapted physical education in Barnstable.
“Everyone has their needs, just in different ways,” (Coach) Turco
“You’re only as successful as the will of your players,” Turco said. “You have to practice and take time to develop the will of your players.”
Sara loves sports and manages the high school volleyball team. Here she is #16 with the Cape Cod Champs volleyball team at Special Olympics, Harvard, Boston MA.
The Cape Cod Champs Special Olympics equivalent organization here in Gloucester and throughout Cape Ann is Cape Ann SNAP. Learn more about the Cape Ann Special Needs Assistance Program http://capeannsnap.org/ Local friends and supporters include: CATA, Azorean, North Shore 104.9, Dunkin Donuts, The Bridge Cape Ann, Turning Point Systems, Maplewood Car Wash, Gloucester House, Beauport ambulance, Protective Packaging, Beauport Princess, George’s of Gloucester, Beauport Princess, USA Demolition, JM Vacation Home Rentals, Prince Insurance Agency, Jalapenos, Sudbay, Passports, Katrina’s, Destinos, Wicked Peacock, Lat 43, and microfiber greens towel. Support also includes Mark Adrian, Lone Gull, Kids Unlimited, Topside Grill, Marshall’s Farmstand and the Fish Shack
Read the fabulous Riley James Cape Cod Champs essay for Gatorade Massachusetts Volleyball Player of the Year, plus a bit more inspiration from amazing Coach Turco
The Cape Cod Champs is a local organization of the Special Olympics of Massachusetts whose goal is to provide athletic opportunities to children and adults with intellectual disabilities. My personal experience from being a unified partner and playing on the volleyball court with these athletes has been humbling and has taught me many life lessons.
Most of us take for granted the challenges these athletes face everyday- both physical, mental and emotional. My good friend Sara, who is also the manager of my high school volleyball team, participates in this program as well as playing other sports offered by the Cape Cod Champs.
By being a unified partner, I have been a firsthand witness to how being a part of a team where everyone is important and can compete together has had an impact on her and all of the other athletes. It is heartwarming to see how happy the players are to simply be able to play the sport that they love, which makes me even more thankful for the opportunities that I have been given.
I can honestly say that these Special Olympians make an immediate and positive impact on everyone that they meet in our community. The Cape Cod Champs are not in it for the wins and losses. They are welcoming, supportive, accepting and inclusive. They show others how important it is to belong to something and what amazing things a group of people can accomplish when they all work together.
It is truly an honor to be able to have met some of the most kind, funny and talented people I know through the Cape Cod Champs. I am the lucky one, because now I am a part of their family, and always will be.- Riley James
from a 2010 article about Coach Turco:
“According to Turco, his winning philosophy emulates the styles of two of basketball’s most esteemed coaches-Red Auerbach and Pat Riley. “Through incredible work ethic it is possible to win with different players,” Turco explained. “That is what impressed me most about Red Auerbach – he just kept on winning with different players.” In addition to being inspired by coaching he saw on the court, Turco also reads and discusses chapters from Pat Riley’s book “The Winner Within: A Life Plan for Team Players.” According to Turco, lessons learned from Riley’s book have helped himself and his players to deal with adversity on the court and in life in a healthy way. “Thunderbolts (Pat Riley’s term for unexpected failures) can either devastate or motivate,” Turco said. “We try to deal with thunderbolts in a positive way.” Turco dealt with adversity, failure and thunderbolts early on in his coaching career. “I felt successful with special needs kids, but I had never worked with mainstream [students] before,” Turco said. The opportunity to coach girls’ volleyball in 1986 was a chance for him to work with mainstream students. Turco’s experience at the time was one season of Bridgewater State club volleyball, but he took the job anyway. “Initially I held the philosophy that if you ignore negative behavior and only reinforce positive behavior, negative behavior will extinguish itself…which was wrong,” Turco said. “I was ready to hang it up…I thought maybe this [coaching volleyball] was the wrong choice,” he added. After his first season as head coach with a 5-11 record, Turco was almost ready to throw in the towel. However, Turco is a product of his grandfather, who after immigrating to the United States built a successful business from the ground up. Like his grandfather, Turco fought through a tremendous learning curve and learned how to foster success.“You’re only as successful as the will of your players,” Turco said. “You have to practice and take time to develop the will of your players.” So far, Turco has inspired his players to find the motivation necessary to become a perennial power house. Turco’s work is not solely contained to the volleyball court either. Turco began his career teaching blind children at Massasoit Community College and for 23 years he has worked as an adapted physical education teacher at Barnstable High School. Each day Turco works with young people with disabilities, in an effort to help them gain independence, confidence and acceptance by the rest of the students. “Success with these kids means including them with the rest of the school,” Turco said. According to the coach and teacher, success with young people with disabilities is not measured in wins and losses, but instead in achieving inclusion and dispelling preconceived notions about what young people with disabilities can achieve. read more from the 2010 coach turco article by Ryan Collins
Good Morning Gloucester 
Great to read a heartwarming story on a day when we all need to remember the good in the world.
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This restores my faith in the youth of this world! Thank you!
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