All around her was chaos, but Barbara LePage was doing her best to remain calm. As emergency personnel swarmed around one of her athletes following an injury at a swim meet, Ms. LePage could see the mounting panic rising in the girl. Pushing aside her own anxiety, the coach requested just two minutes of privacy with her athlete, reassuring her that they were there to help, not hurt, and then stood within sight in the background as medics got to work.

Just as she was about to be taken to the hospital, the athlete called out — not for family, not for friends. For Ms. LePage.

“Mom and Dad were there, and she was like, ‘nope, I want my coach, I want my coach,’ ” Ms. LePage remembered.

Moments like those have earned the longtime head coach of the Bristol County Baysiders Special Olympics team the respect and adoration from athletes, parents and community members alike, leading her to be inducted into the Special Olympics Rhode Island Hall of Fame this past Thursday, Feb. 21.

Finding her strength

While Ms. LePage may be a master at reigning in her nerves now, that was hardly the case for the Bristol native growing up. As a child, Ms. LePage was diagnosed with epilepsy, a neurological disorder characterized by the onset of sudden and recurring seizures. The uncontrollable episodes made her a target among some of her peers during high school, but Ms. LePage was not about to allow herself to be victimized as a result of her condition.

“I wasn’t going to be the bullied-type,” she said.

When Ms. LePage was just 13, her mother died; a year later, she suffered seven seizures in one day, landing herself in the hospital. Eventually, Ms. LePage began to see a common thread preceding each and every one of her episodes: worrying about everybody else, but herself.

It took time, but Ms. LePage gradually learned how to let go of her anxieties. She found solace in her Catholic faith, strived to see the upside in every situation. When her father — one of the most important people in her life — passed away 15 years ago, Ms. LePage expected a relapse. When no seizure ultimately came, though, she knew one never again would.

“I was born on this day, God knows when I’m going to die, and in between I’m living my life.”

Accidental beginnings
As Ms. LePage sees it now, those adversities she faced early on were only preparing her for a career with the Baysiders. The way she fell into her role, however, was completely accidental.

More than 20 years ago, Ms. LePage had been taking a ceramics class, the instructor of which had a son who participated in the Special Olympics. One day, one of the coaches of his team was unable to make it to a track meet at Salve Regina University. Knowing that Ms. LePage — winner of Bristol High School’s “Most School Spirited” award — loved attending any and all sporting events, the team asked if she could come and step in.

Without a second thought, she agreed.

“I didn’t know what I was getting myself into,” she said.

Instantly hooked, she was then invited to help out at the State Summer Games, a high-energy, highly-emotional event taking place over the course of a weekend at the University of Rhode Island (“I cry every year when I go; it’s a touching thing”). Her involvement steadily continued until taking over as head coach in 1999, putting her in charge of all four events the Baysiders currently compete in: bocce, bowling, swimming and track and field.

Now Ms. LePage’s weeks are full as she balances a career working in human resources at Brown University with practices and meets for the Special Olympics for much of the year. Plenty of her free time is devoted to scoping out free events and resources she and her athletes can take advantage of, whether it be a Red Sox game or a place to practice. In the years since she has been coach, Ms. LePage has developed a close relationship with both the Bristol Parks and Recreation department and Roger Williams University.

“Whatever I wanted, all I had to do was ask.”

Running a tight ship
At this time of year, Ms. LePage can be found on any given Sunday morning over at Dudek Lanes in Warren. It is bowling season for the Baysiders, and as many as 24 athletes ranging from their late 20s to mid-60s crowd the bowling alley for two hours every weekend. This week, swimming practice will also begin over at RWU on Thursday nights, and come March, track and field will kick off at Mt. Hope High School, too.

Throughout the hour or two that the team practices, Ms. LePage participates right alongside her athletes, whether that means dipping into the pool with them or walking together along the track.

“I like to tell them that if I can’t do something, that’s an excuse if they say ‘I can’t do it,’ ” Ms. LePage said. “If I can do it, you can do it.”

While she always wants her athletes to have fun while challenging themselves, Ms. LePage does, as she phrases it, “run a tight ship.” All is well if everyone is being respectful and courteous to one another, but the moment things begin to get out of hand, Ms. LePage — “the drill sergeant,” as her team calls her — has no problem putting her foot down. It is one of the qualities Maureen Neubauer, whose daughter, Jill, bowls with the team, admires about the coach.

“Barbara’s the best; she really pushes them to do their best and doesn’t tolerate bad behavior.”

Challenges and rewards
Being the head coach of a Special Olympics team does not come without its unique challenges. Because of her position, Ms. LePage is responsible for every athlete’s medical information. She ensures they take their medication on time, knows what they are allergic to. There have been plenty more moments like that one at the swim meet, where Ms. LePage has had to quell an oncoming panic attack or call 911 in the middle of an airport.

She deals with each scenario as they come, and lets it go from there.

While at events, Ms. LePage is protective of her athletes, all of whom she considers as her own children. No stranger will get away with unsolicited touching or inappropriate language directed toward the Baysiders.

“I tell them, ‘because you are a person, a human being, like everyone else, and you are to be respected,’ ” she said.
That fierceness has allowed parents and guardians to have full faith in Ms. LePage. The team could miss a flight or fail to arrive home before 2 a.m. and it still does not matter; as far as they are concerned, as long as the athletes are with their coach, then everything is fine.

“It always amazes me how much trust they have in me.”

Induction ceremony
Around Thanksgiving this past year, Ms. LePage received a letter in the mail from the Special Olympics organization. Assuming it was for another fundraiser, she almost tossed it into the trash. Instead she opened it, and immediately was stunned.

The letter was informing Ms. LePage that she was being inducted into the Special Olympics RI Hall of Fame.
This past Thursday, Feb. 21, she was honored in front of a crowd that included 60 of her closest friends, athletes and their guardians at Twin River in Lincoln.

“I like to be behind the scenes; this is totally new and strange to me,” she said.

The way she prefers it, her athletes are the ones who take center stage. In the years since she has been coaching, Ms. LePage has sent 10 on to the National and World Games. One received a gold medal for skiing in Austria; another traveled to China for sailing. Ms. LePage has watched from the stands as her athletes competed in soccer in Ireland. Even so, the winning aspect interests her less than the thrill she witnesses from her athletes as they complete an event.

“Just seeing the excitement in the athletes’ faces is, you know, enough for me.”