Boston.com Coach of the Year Endorsement

     I want to talk about something other than football for a second.  It was brought to my attention that David Tynes, head of the Cambridge Program for Individuals with Special Needs, has been selected as a finalist for Boston.com Coach of the Year.  The winner of this will award will have their program get a surprise visit form Celtics captain Paul Pierce. Here is why David is so deserving of this honor.  
     David started his career with “The Program" twenty years ago. What he started with was a group of individuals who on a daily basis faced trials and tribulations most of us could never imagine.  What has evolved is a powerhouse: they’ve won eight of the last 10 Special Olympics state basketball championships, had numerous athletes earn single event gold medals, as well as had a national champion power lifter who broke the national record with a 455-pound dead lift.  The number of members has grown from in the teens to 60 plus, and three of their athletes have been inducted into the Special Olympics Hall of Fame.
     But you'd be doing David a disservice by only focusing on his athletic accomplishments with The Program.  He’s run 10 out of the last 11 Boston Marathons (and finished nine of them) to help raise money.  He has brought in guest speakers to help parents of his athletes learn about their tax and guardianship rights.  He has expanded the program to include a traditional after school program on Mondays and Wednesdays, as well as a bowling league on Tuesdays.  Their exercise program on Wednesday nights was put in place to assure his older athletes learn healthy living and eating habits.    
    Even those reasons are not why David deserves your vote.  Perhaps the biggest accomplishment he has made during this time has been his work as a father.  Countless athletes have come to David over the last 20 years with no positive male role model.  David has welcomed them not only into his program, but also inside his home.  He showed them how to shave; helped them learn proper hygiene; taught them how to take public transportation; helped them get jobs; appeared on their behalf in court dates; administered tough love when it was needed.  Most importantly, he gave them hope.  He worked them harder than anyone ever has, pushed them further than they could have ever imagined, and made them believe in themselves, all because he loves them. 
     In case you’re wondering, he does have a life.  He has a wife and family in Newton, where he is a Physical Education teacher.  He has three children, one who has completed college, one currently in her freshman year at Penn State, and another who recently began seventh grade.  Rarely did David miss a game, recital, Parent Teacher conference or special day.  Some days he would leave work in Newton at 2:30, work in Cambridge from 3-5, then jet back to Newton to see the final few outs of his sons baseball games.  I should know.  David is my dad.
     Let me leave you with a story.  On Senior Day at UMD, like Senior Day anywhere, the parents walk out with the players onto the field before the game.  My dad still hadn't arrived when the family directly before me was about to be called.  As they were beginning their walk, the parents of John Henry, one of my best friends, started making their way back to walk me down the cheerleader-made isle.  At that moment, my dad burst onto the field, making it just in time.  Why was he late?  He had to pick up my brothers.  There, along the home sideline, where three of my dad's athletes I grew up with.  They cheered and yelled louder than anyone else in attendance.  While it was very modest statistically, I had my career high in catches that day.  I had no other choice but to perform, really.  They would have never let me live it down.
     So if you have a free second today, click the link below and give David a vote.  Don't do it for me.  Hell, don't even have to do it for him.  Do it for Victor, Elmo, Elias, Anthony, Denise, and the countless other athletes that, just like the ones we cover here, can't wait for Saturdays.  Because they know that for those 7 hours, in that Cambridge gym, they are the stars.

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/specials/gallery/2010_outstanding_coach?pg=7