On a Wednesday night, Bob Thow will usually be found at the top of the slope at Garthdee’s snowsports centre.
And this week was no different despite being in the middle of two knee replacements.
However, it is not skiing he is hooked on. He is there to see his athletes.
For the last 15 years, the head coach for the Special Olympics Alpine Skiing team has been training young people and adults with intellectual disabilities.
As such, he hates to miss their training. But do not worry, he is still being “sensible”.
Four months into his recovery from the first operation, Bob, 67, said he only stood halfway up the slope to offer encouragement to the athletes sweeping by.
“I enjoy working with people,” the Special Olympics Grampian volunteer said.
“I love to see people grow in self-belief, which they do through Special Olympics.
“Somebody with an intellectual disability struggles to fit in. They don’t learn at the same pace and they struggle.
“We’ll take them in, and get them up to the point they’re comfortable and then we integrate them into the group.
“They are now included and that’s what hooks me in. You see a person growing not only in the skill you’re teaching them but also everything else in life.”
From Glenshee slopes to Garthdee coach
Having spent 37 years in the cadets, the dad-of-three was introduced to skiing as a teen when the sport took off in the 70’s and 80’s.
Bob became enamoured with the mountain fresh air and the feeling of being free on the slopes in places like Glenshee.
Around 20 years ago, he was looking to build up his shadowing hours at Adventure Aberdeen Snowsports Centre to gain more skiing qualifications.
One day, when Bob was standing outside, he was asked if he would help out with a few lessons.
“I hadn’t a clue what Special Olympics was about,” he said.
“We ended up starting up a group in Garthdee with six young people…and it’s just grown from there.”
Alpine Skiing is one of 27 sports currently included in the Special Olympics.
Designed to ensure every single person regardless of ability or disability can compete, the Special Olympics runs 46,000 sporting competitions a year in 177 countries and is a charity that relies on volunteers like Bob to keep it running.
Bob’s ‘unique’ coaching style seems to work
Bob’s love for the people he trains is obvious as he talks about a nine-year-old boy called Percy Soni, who he has been working with.
When he first came to Bob, a few people were not sure if Percy, who is autistic and says very few words, was going to manage.
But all Bob said was: “This guy’s gonna ski don’t worry about it. And I got him to ski.”
But when Percy ended up in hospital for a few months, something went wrong with his red blood cells.
When he came back, Bob said everything had changed for him.
“He is now totally blind,” said the Aberdeenshire resident. “For an autistic person, learning visually is a major asset and he has totally lost that.
“But he is back skiing.
“You would never know he’s blind and it’s absolutely amazing to see.”
Hoping to train him to compete in the Special Olympics, Bob admitted he is a bit of a “unique” coach.
“My aim is for you to enjoy, and I’ll keep you safe,” he said. “And then you will hopefully keep doing it, and become good at doing it.”
Special Olympics is ‘Britain’s best kept secret’
Bob is in the process of training the British team for the Special Olympics World Winter Games 2025 in Turin.
But it is not just coaching.
Bob’s involvement with committees and subgroups as well as competitions – like being alpine skiing race director at the Folgaria 2024 Special Olympics GB National Winter Games Championships – means he is often on his home computer despite being retired much to his wife Moira’s despair.
The Whitecairns resident said: “As somebody said to me once it’s Britain’s best-kept secret the Special Olympics. It’s a wonderful organisation.
“It still challenges me because sometimes what you think works, disnae work.
“We might have a few moments, but we have a lot of good laughs.”
For more information about the Special Olympics Grampian Ski group check out their Facebook page or email sogaskigroup@btinternet.com
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