The Aroostook Snowdogs, Aroostook County’s Special Olympics basketball team, named a new head coach earlier this month.
Jody Shaw, a longtime assistant coach with the program, has taken over the team from Spencer King, who stepped down in September after five years in the position.
“It was just a natural transition,” Shaw said Tuesday. “I have the respect of the athletes and they have the respect for me and I could just see myself being part of the team and being the head coach. [The team was] very excited when I told them before they announced it.”
In addition to previously working with the Snowdogs, Shaw is the head coach of the Alleycats, a Special Olympics bowling team, an assistant coach of the Grasshoppers, Aroostook’s Special Olympics soccer team, and organizes other events in the area, including Special Olympics swim and track meets.
In her day job, Shaw is the training coordinator of the Central Aroostook Association, a group that provides a variety of services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
She’s been involved with Special Olympics Aroostook for more than a decade.
“From the first day I started working, we went up to spring games and I saw the amount of smiles and enthusiasm that all the athletes had and I was like, ‘I want to be a part of this. This is going to be my jam,’” Shaw said.
The core values that have long defined the Snowdogs, including respect and unity, will remain priorities under her reign, Shaw said. The only change she’s looking to make from her predecessor is expanding the team’s schedule.
The Snowdogs played two games and an end-of-season tournament in Orono last season. Shaw is looking to engage with a variety of local schools and other organizations to grow that slate this year.
The team’s season is expected to begin in December.
“I’m most excited to just be a part of the team and make sure that we continue to be a team,” Shaw said. “We’re always the Snowdogs or we’re always the Grasshoppers or we’re always the Alleycats. I want them to have that camaraderie outside of the sports teams and unite all of the agencies in Aroostook County.”
