Jonathan and Matthew both didn’t know what they got themselves into by getting involved with Special Olympics by swimming with the Pioneer Valley team; but four years later for Jonathan and three years for Matthew, they are still swimming with Pioneer Valley.

Jonathan Chan is a Springfield College student and swimmer. In addition to doing his schoolwork, he helps the Pioneer Valley Swim Team every Monday night. For Jonathan, he heard about Special Olympics from his former head coach John Taffe, who told everyone on the Swim Team to sign up for Special Olympics because the team works with Special Olympics athletes after the season ends.

“So I first heard about special Olympics when I got here and the team told me that we work with Special Olympic athletes after the season ends,” said Jonathan. “I was like, ‘I've never tried before, so yeah, let's go find out how it is.’ And it turns out I really like working here.”

For Matthew, he is Special Olympics athlete for the Pioneer Valley Swim Team. His dad, Russ has a friend named Ali Zabian, who has a clothing store in Lee, Massachusetts. Russ was visiting him and his family one day, when Ali introduced him to Special Olympics MA Coach Joe, who was shopping in his store.

“I was sharing with him about my son Matthew and asked if he would qualify for being able to be a part of the [Pioneer Valley Swim] team,” said Russ. “We then filled out all the necessary forms and then we came to practice and that’s when we met Jonathan and began the journey which we are very grateful for it.”

For Matthew, swimming was a new and uncertain experience. Matthew started out being difficult—he needed to touch the bottom of the pool to stay afloat. Jonathan reassured him that he would be there to support him. Matthew struggled a lot as he was nervous and hesitant to adapt to a new coaching style. He was also unsure of his ability to swim independently. But, by the end of the first year, Matthew made a huge breakthrough…he started to believe in himself and swimming more confidently.

“The most exciting part is when they improve and grow under my guidance,” said Jonathan. “For example, Matthew. His time was around 4:53 when I was initially working with him. But this year he went 1:02. There's a huge development and I'm very proud of him for doing his best.”

Over the next two years Jonathan and Matthew’s bond grew stronger. Matthew transformed into a hardworking and confident swimmer. Matthew is willing to take on challenges and become a valuable asset to the team.

“It was a long transformation in regards to just getting used to the pool, getting used to the other swimmers and athletes, and also getting used to Jonathan,” said Russ. “But once he developed a relationship with Jonathan, I think they both seemed to click together and little by little, after you started to see success with Jonathan's encouragement and his family's encouragement and the team's encouragement, it especially helped Matthew see progress and friendship grow”

Jonathan learned that the athletes he works with are people like him.

“So the athletes I work and swim with are just people like me” said Jonathan. “When I was working special Olympics, I realized people with intellectual disabilities are very competent and can even perform like us [Springfield College Swimmers]”.

Matthew’s dad, Russ, even believes his son Matthew joined Special Olympics to help him do something outside of his comfort zone besides school. It  gave him an opportunity to meet new people like Jonathan and the coaches, coach Joe and coach Nicole and coach Sue. His dad believed it’s about building relationships and confidence that as Matthew has grown in age, he’s also  grown in confidence and friendship.

“Jonathan showing that he was genuinely connected to Matthew and his progress let Matthew try harder,” said Russ. “It let Matthew know that there was more he could do.”

Jonathan started volunteering for the Pioneer Valley Swim Team to kill his time in his post-season and engage in team activities. But never expected this to be something deeply meaningful and inspirational. Though working with Matthew and helping other swimmers, Jonathan realized that everyone, regardless their differences, are capable of increased growth and success.

“It was more than just volunteer work,” said Jonathan. “It is a shared memory for us.”

Anne 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.