It’s Troy Kaneshiro’s job to have people’s cars towed. So he deals with a lot of unhappy customers.

And that’s part of why the Special Olympics is so special to him.

“I get refreshed,” said the Manoa resident, who is head coach of Windward Special People, one of the teams participating at this weekend’s Special Olympics Hawaii Summer Games. “The love I get from these guys here makes up for getting yelled at at work.”

Kaneshiro is among the many volunteer coaches who didn’t play a lot of sports themselves.

“Having the compassion to coach these athletes is what’s most important,” Kaneshiro said. “You do have to be certified, but the training is good. I’m kind of glad I wasn’t a jock in high school. Because to me, all that is important is that they have fun and they try their best.”

Kaneshiro, 55, first got involved with helping intellectually disabled people when he was a middle school student and went on a field trip to Waimano Home. He brought his guitar that day, and was rewarded with smiles and hugs after he played a couple of songs.

“People always ask me which of the athletes is my kid,” said the father of two adult children. “Sometimes they’re surprised when I tell them none of them are mine. But, actually, all of them are.”

WISP had just finished track and field for the day, and Melanie Aquino of Kaneohe proudly wore her medal for competing in the 100-meter walk. Like many other WISP athletes, Aquino, 53, is a veteran of many years of Special Olympics participation.

As it is with all athletes, advancing age presents new challenges to which they must adjust. While age doesn’t matter as much in some Special Olympics sports, it can in many, such as track and field events.

“As athletes get older they get more injuries in their joints,” Kaneshiro said. “And we only practice with them once a week, so it could be the only exercise they’re getting.”

But Special Olympics is addressing this with SOFIT, which focuses more on fitness than competition and also educates the athletes about health aspects such as nutrition.

It also helps WISP is affiliated with the city and county’s parks and recreation programs at Kailua District Park.

“They’re very accommodating to us,” Kaneshiro said.

Former WISP head coach Joan Yamanaka makes sure of that. Yamanaka, 76, is retired from parks and recreation, but remains active with the team as an assistant coach and liaison to the park.

She first got involved with Special Olympics more than 40 years ago when her daughters were Girl Scouts. Then Yamanaka returned to college at age 39 and got a degree in early childhood education.

“Wherever I lived there was a neighbor who was deaf or disabled in some other way, and they would always be at our house” she said. “Maybe I was meant to work with people with disabilities.”

Having devoted her life to programs like Special Olympics helped prepare Yamanaka for having a grandson born three months premature. He’s 6 now, and “mentally he’s OK, but physically he’s got some problems,” Yamanaka said.

Like Yamanaka and Kaneshiro, Sue Shigetani was never a competitive athlete but did not let that stop her from becoming a Special Olympics coach.

“They train you for everything you need to know,” said Shigetani, who is certified to coach track and field, softball, bocce ball and bowling. “All you have to have is the desire.”

There was a lot of that on display as the Pirates beat Big Red in a Unified Softball championship game Saturday at Les Murakami Stadium 15-14 in eight innings. Mid-Pacific Institute baseball players and their family members volunteered to staff the event.

According to the unified rules, half of the team is Special Olympians and the other half are called “partners,” some of whom are player-coaches.

Each year, the Pirates prepare for the summer games tournament with a game against the HMSA team.

“They’ve also participated in our church coed league for many years,” said Roy Mizushima, former coach of the HMSA team, who now umpires the annual game.

So, there are many ways to volunteer.

“Most of it is your heart,” Kaneshiro said. “Once you meet them you’re hooked for life.”

The Special Olympics Summer Games conclude this morning with track and field, power lifting and swimming events at the University of Hawaii campus. Closing ceremonies are at 1 p.m. at Ching Field.

Click here for information on volunteering and other ways to get involved.