Annette Lynch ’79G doesn’t just like sports, she’s built an entire career and life around them — as a player, coach, educator, manager, and consultant. The central theme running through all her many roles has always been giving back and helping others to achieve their best.
In 2022, in recognition of her many achievements and her work with Special Olympics, Lynch was presented with Special Olympics North America’s (SONA) first-ever lifetime achievement award in coaching — and it named the award for her. SONA called Lynch a pioneer in athlete development and coach education in Special Olympics.
“It was an incredible honor to be recognized. They generally name lifetime achievement awards after people who have passed away — it’s nice that I can be recognized and enjoy it while I’m still here!” Lynch laughed.
Lehigh bound
While studying physical education and psychology at Illinois State University in the late 1960s, Lynch played basketball, field hockey, golf, track and field, and volleyball. After graduating, she also played point guard on the USA women’s national basketball team in the Pan-American Games, before there was women’s basketball in the Olympics.
Lynch was teaching and coaching softball at Easton High School in Pennsylvania when an opportunity to coach women’s basketball at Lehigh presented itself. She took the job because it allowed her to coach and pursue her master’s degree at the same time.
“I was interested in helping athletes with low self-esteem, and what I wanted was a degree they didn’t have — sports psychology,” Lynch said. “But working with my advisor, I was able to bridge education and psychology. I thoroughly enjoyed my coaching experience at Lehigh and graduated with a master’s in education with an emphasis on human development (counseling).”
Finding her niche in Special Olympics
After graduation, Lynch knew she wanted to stay at the collegiate level and held coaching positions at Northwestern University and the University of Rhode Island. She left coaching for a while in 1989 to join Edward D. Jones investment firm. But two months before her training, she was contacted by Special Olympics — they were looking for a worldwide director of basketball.
“I later found out that (Special Olympics founder) Eunice Kennedy Shriver wanted to hire a woman for the position because at the time there were no full-time women in the sports department at Special Olympics,” Lynch said.
She flew to Special Olympics International headquarters in Washington, D.C., and interviewed over the course of two days, with a final interview conducted by Shriver. “It was very clear that Mrs. Shriver would be the one making the decision,” Lynch said. “She asked me what made me think I could do that job, then pointed at me and said, ‘Women are not encouraged to play team sports. What will you do to increase women’s participation in basketball in Special Olympics?’ And I told her, ‘Everyone wants to participate in your World Games. Tell the countries with a large population base of women and men that they need to develop a women’s program to compete in the World Games — and give them two years of training and competition so they’ll be ready.’ She hired me and I started working immediately.”
Lynch worked her way up in Special Olympics for the next 11 years, eventually becoming director of education and training. She’s proud that the coach certification system she helped build is still in use. She also helped develop three online courses for coaches: Principles of Coaching for Special Olympics, Coaching Special Olympics Athletes, and Coaching Unified Sports.
Coaching in the World Games
One of the peak experiences of her Special Olympics career occurred when Lynch was coaching a Special Olympics Virginia Area 26 basketball team, the Dulles Cowboys. The team qualified for the 1995 Special Olympics World Games in New Haven, Connecticut.
“They trained hard for the six weeks before the Games. I told them they should feel good about their preparation and that they had earned the right to be there,” Lynch said. With great confidence, the players won five games, including two buzzer-beaters against Vermont, but lost a game to Honduras. They took home the bronze medal.
In 2000, Special Olympics decentralized, and Lynch went to work for Special Olympics Maryland. In 2004, she accepted a job at the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (now Women Leaders in College Sports). “I felt called to the position where I was able to help women become administrators because college athletics administration was and still is such a male bastion,” Lynch said.
Four years later, SONA was looking for a director of coach education and training, and Lynch jumped at the chance. “I was happiest working at Special Olympics because of the impact we made. I had an opportunity at SONA to do coaches education, athlete leadership, and Unified Sports®, as well as work with athletes.” Lynch helped develop an updated basketball skills program guide for coaches at the global level, as well as sports management team guides geared to the local level.
“Special Olympics really was my niche,” Lynch said. “My knowledge of teaching and coaching from my work at Illinois State University gave me a tremendous foundational beginning, and the master’s degree I got at Lehigh gave me the skills and knowledge to apply in areas that needed my particular ability. I had the opportunity to bring together people from all over the world, and we were able to achieve that legacy. I’m proud and humbled that I got the chance to be a part of all of that.”
Still coaching in retirement
Lynch retired in 2016 from full-time work and formed her own consulting business. She’s
currently working on three projects, one of which is assisting Special Olympics New Hampshire with its sports program and athlete leadership. “After I left Special Olympics, I always knew I would still be helping people — I just didn’t know what that would look like.”
Lynch calls her business, AKL Connection, a “human development company. My motto is ‘Coaching others to connect their dreams with reality.’ I truly feel that’s what my purpose is.”
And when she’s not helping others, Lynch is living a dream of her own in Dallas, Texas: “I finally got my dream house — I live on a golf course!”