The Seven Hills Panthers have had a bunch of changes this year on the basketball team; but that has not stopped them from having fun and working hard. Kyle Stokes, who played with the team last year, became a coach. That was a big change. Kyle is an amazing coach for Seven Hills, since he knows what the players are all good at and how hard he can push each of them.  

He had been on the court with Seven Hills before, so he has seen how they play. The way he runs practice is the same way the other coaches used to run it—things have not changed in that sense.

“It feels great to lead my friends, who also used to be my teammates,” said Kyle. “It also made it a little easier to adjust to coaching as well because I already have created a bond with the players.”

But it wasn’t the easiest transition for Seven Hills teammates, since Kyle was one of the leaders on the floor last year; and they don’t have him on the floor anymore. Kyle is also a friend to most of the Seven Hills players, who now look up to him as a coach.

When asked if he had any struggles with the transition to coach from player he said, “It wasn’t easy at first because of playing 18 years; but once I got used to being on the sidelines instead of the court, the job  became alittle easier.”

There were challenges that the Seven Hills Panthers had to go through as teammates; but they are not letting the challenges affect them. In addition to Coach Kyle, they had other athletes take on new positions on the floor. Robbie Elliot is now playing center on the basketball court and the Panthers had a new teammate join the team.

Coach Kyle is going through his own challenges at the same time. He said his challenge was, “adjusting to going from player to coach and understanding the rules, like when to do substitutions.”  

The first set of games the Panther shad on January 17 was not the easiest. They did not come out with any wins and lost the first game with a score of 34 to 19. The second game they lost 28 to 12. They lost the third game 59 to 25.  

Coach Kyle gave an amazing pep talk before the start of the fourth game, and everyone could feel the positive energy. “We are starting a new game,” he said. Kyle was proud of the Panthers for, “not giving up even when we were losing. We had tremendous fight.”  

The team then played way harder.

The fourth game the Panthers ended up winning 32 to 26.  Everyone was super happy to have won a game since there had been so many changes this year.

“It was a great relief to get my first win as a coach,” said Kyle. “We had faced some tough competition to start. To get a first win after three tough loses was amazing. It was amazing to lead a group that I’ve know for so long to our first win this year.”

It was a weight off his shoulders to have that win.

The Panthers have overcome so many challenges; but did not let them stop their effort. Coach Kyle said he, “sees a bright future for this team going forward and that they are a team who shows every week its willingness to learn and work. This is a good sign of a winning team going forward.”

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Anita Griffin is a member of the Special Olympics MA Content Squad. The mission of Special Olympics MA Athlete Leadership is to empower athletes to develop communication skills and utilize their voices to assume meaningful leadership roles. As members of the Content Squad, athlete leaders contribute to Special Olympics MA story-telling through interviews, photos, video creation, and more.