With nearly 30 certified coaches, you might think Butler County Special Olympics has plenty of help in that area.

Think again.

The organizationoffers 14 sports throughout the year while Special Olympics Pennsylvania offers 21. With 199 athletes in the county — most of whom participate in multiple sports — coaches are spread thin rather quickly.

"You can't be the head coach of a team unless you go through the certification training period,"said the county's Special Olympicsmanager Mary Pitzer. "That can be time-consuming for a lot of people.

"We have about 70 noncertified volunteer coaches who help out, but head coaches are hard to come by."

Special Olympics sports in Pennsylvania range from bocce to basketball, softball to skiing, aquatics to power lifting.

To become a Special Olympics head coach, a person must attend training classes for eight weeks, then put in another 10 hours of supervised work and interaction with Special Olympians.

Coaches return to class every two years for updated training.

"You have to commit yourself," Pitzer said of becoming a coach.

Dave Burgoon has been a coach in volleyball, floor hockey and track and field for nearly 20 years.

"My son Ryan has been in Special Olympics since he was 8 and he's 29 now,"Burgoon said. "I got involved as a coach the same year he got involved as an athlete.

"Just helping these kids get more out of life makes it worthwhile. We do need a lot of help, though. Our coaches have been at it for a lot of years and a lot of sports and they do experience burnout."

Burgoon coaches a sport during the fall, winter and spring seasons.

"It does require patience,"he said of coaching Special Olympians. "You have to keep trying to teach them the same thing over and over ... I've got great respect for these athletes because they're trying their hardest all the time."

Pat Byerly has been coaching bowling to Special Olympians in Butler County for 20 years. She has been involved in the organization for 30 years.

"Something you or I might pick up in 10 minutes, it takes some of these athletes six months to learn,"Byerly said. "But once they get it, they use it. They grow because of it.

"Nothing can be more satisfying from a coaching perspective."

Pitzer said coaches come from a variety of sources, including senior citizens, college students and family members.

Slippery Rock University offers a minor in adaptive physical activity that includes a class in sports and disability. A requirement of that class is to become a certified Special Olympics coach.

The program has existed at SRUfor three years and certifies about 50 coaches each year.

"We've done a lot of work with Butler County Special Olympics and our students do their supervised training with their athletes," instructor Wendy Fagan said. "Slippery Rock is one of 10 founding schools to offer this minor in the country.

"Six different majors can branch off into this minor, including exercise science, special education and physical education."

While Fagan admitted no follow-up study has yet been done to see how many graduates of this program remain active in Special Olympics coaching, Pitzer said "Butler County has gotten a number of coaches through that university."

Special Olympics in the countyhas plenty of veteran coaches, including Byerly, Burgoon, soccer and basketball coach Scott Pitzer and ski coach Steve Prokay.

"Once you work with special needs kids, you're hooked,"Burgoon said. "It's so rewarding. It becomes a life-long commitment. Coaches will quit for a while to do other things in life they have to do, then they come back to it."

Byerly agreed.

"You never get tired of seeing where these people can go, what they can accomplish,"she said. "People used to think they could do nothing when, in fact, they compete harder than anybody ... and appreciate it more than everybody."

Certified coaching training classes just begin March 24 at Grove City College and March 25 at Indiana (Pa.)University.

Anyone interested in becoming a certified coach may call Chuck Kuntz at 724-285-4101.

Here are some facts and figures on Special Olympics in Pennsylvania and in general:• 22 — Number of sports in which the state offers competition and training• 187 — Number of athletes the statebegan with in 1969• 20,000 — Number of athletes the statehas now• 8 to 80 — Age range for Special Olympic athletes• 199 — Special Olympic athletes in Butler County• 42 — Number of volunteer coaches in Butler County• 1 million — Minimum number of Special Olympic athletes in the world• 250,000 — Special Olympic coaches in the world• 140 — Number of countries with Special Olympic programs.