“My entire life has revolved around sports”

29/01/2020

Ryan Cadres from Massechusetts, USA, tells us how sport has shaped his life

I am a 42 year old with Cerebral Palsy and live in Massachusetts. My entire life has revolved around sports. As a youngster I was an okay athlete, playing soccer, basketball, and baseball. However, as I got older my peers started to get bigger and stronger and it was becoming more and more difficult to compete at the level I wanted to. Therefore, it was time for me to find a different avenue when it came for my passion of sports.

I spent my high school years as the team manager for both the football and basketball teams. As I transitioned into college, I continued to help out my high school football and basketball teams. This lead to my first high school coaching job as the Freshmen Basketball Coach at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School in 1999 at the age of 20. While I only spent two years in that position, that lead me to being an Assistant coach for 4 different area high school football programs from 2002-present.

I have also coached high school baseball since 2004. Although I love coach, my passion is officiating basketball. I have been a member of IAABO Board 54 since the year 2000. I have officiated numerous level of basketball, ranging from 3rd and 4th grade recreation basketball, to premier travel leagues, to high school basketball as high as the varsity level. I have officiated numerous State Tournament games and was an alternate at the TD Garden in Boston, Ma in 2015. While, I may not compete like I once use to unless it is on the golf course, I have found a way to keep involved in sports and don’t let my Cerebral Palsy define me.