Evan Combs of Gainesville, Florida, has participated with Special Olympics for the past nine years as a volunteer, coach, Unified partner and now, employed as a sports manager for Special Olympics Florida. He will represent Special Olympics USA as head coach in basketball. Volunteering for nearly every sport that Special Olympics offers, Evan has also coached athletics, basketball, bowling, flag football, soccer, swimming and volleyball. Evan has dedicated much of his experience as a student at the University of Florida to improving Special Olympics programming for students, helping grow their Special Olympics College Club from less than 20 members to more than 200 members in two years. Evan competed as a Unified partner in flag football at the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games.
For Evan, his life’s greatest obstacle has been losing his mother at a young age. He shares his passion for sports with his father, who was a high school basketball coach for 15 years. Leading a team at the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 is a dream come true for Evan.