Special Olympics Caribbean named Cayman’s Penny McDowall ‘Caribbean Coach of the Year’ this month (Caymanian Compass, 12 June 2007; page 14). This is both well-deserved attention for McDowall’s efforts and a positive reflection on Cayman’s overall Special Olympics program.
As head aquatics coach for the Special Olympics Cayman for the last 10 years, McDowall has devoted countless hours to making Caymanian athletes competitive in the water. Young Andrew Smiley, one of her swimmers, has not only excelled in Special Olympics events but also in open competition against anyone his age – and in some cases older. He was a top overall finisher in last Saturday’s Flowers One Mile Sea Swim, for example.
It is not McDowall’s ability to turn children and teenagers into fast swimmers, however, that makes her an invaluable asset to the Cayman Islands. It is the work she puts in before and after the meets, that matters most. She is revered by many people within the sports community as a person who cares first and foremost for the young people around her. For example, it is business as usual for McDowall to take an active role in their lives. Swimming, in many cases, becomes an almost trivial side-light to these activities. Great sports coaches, such as former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, know that winning matters but must always be accompanied with the attempt to improve the athlete as a person, too. It is obvious to all who know her or have seen her in action that McDowall is a great coach in just that tradition. She is about making winners in both sports and life. She knows that a gold medal hanging around the neck of an empty athlete with no direction or purpose in their life is not a meaningful victory.
The Caymanian Compass congratulates Penny McDowall for being named 2007 Caribbean Coach of the Year and hopes that her tireless efforts will influence all of our country’s coaches, regardless of the sport.
Related Videos
