Joe and Nancy Bellini of Katonah, New York, first met more than three decades ago. Theirs, like many love stories, had an inauspicious start.
“At the time, we were both married to other people…and we were total opposites,” recalled Joe Bellini with a wry smile. “Nancy? She can trace her ancestry back to the Mayflower. Me? I was Joey from The Bronx!”
Joe was introduced to Special Olympics in 1993 as a part-time coach with North East Westchester Special Recreation, in Hawthorne, New York. Upon joining, he met Nancy, who has been with the organization since 1984 and currently serves as a program director.
There, the duo began working together to support North East Westchester Special Recreation’s mission of serving individuals with developmental disabilities through community-based therapeutic recreation. Operating across 12 towns in Westchester County, they provide valuable services to both children and adults. Through their combined efforts, Nancy and Joe developed Special Olympics programming offered by North East Westchester Special Recreation.
“Once Joe started, 10 years after I did, and he had more experience and had developed a connection with our athletes, we really continued to expand our programming to meet the needs of individuals we serve,” said Nancy. “Now, when we go to an event, we’re often taking around 80 athletes.”
As their Special Olympics community grew, so did their partnership into a relationship beyond the workplace. And in April of 2010, that relationship was celebrated in front of friends and family on their wedding day.
“It was April 11 of 2010, and it was funny because I watched spring come and it doesn’t always come so early because you’re waiting for things to bloom…but that day was a perfect day,” shared Nancy.
“We got to do it the way we wanted, all the nonsense was out of the way,” added Joe. “We decorated ourselves; a family member was our florist, the caterer was a guy I knew through work and my mom got to make meatballs.”
Over their years of partnership - set to the backdrop of gymnasiums and floor hockey courts, the workplace and at venues around the world - togetherness has been the watchword for Joe and Nancy. In their time as Special Olympics coaches, they have been to multiple state-level Games, Special Olympics USA Games, Special Olympics World Games and countless other local events.
One such event, and a major highlight for them both, was the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Nagano in 2005. As floorball coaches, they were assigned respective host families as a way to facilitate cultural exchange, dialogue and offer athletes and coaches an in-person, immersive experience as part of their visit to Japan.
“The house in Japan was wild, it was tiny,” said Joe. “There was no room. My luggage stayed outside in the foyer. We wound up sleeping on the floor in the living room.”
“I ended up going into a doctor’s family home,” said Nancy. “It was three floors; my host mother spoke English and I’m still in touch with her to this day… One day while I was there, the mother demanded that I call home to talk to my family and that her kids talk to my kids. We’re still friends, which I just love.”
Beyond the accommodation comparisons, the host family model allowed coaches and athletes to make real connections with families, who supported their journey to competition and beyond.
This March, the Bellinis will be making another international appearance, coaching together in the Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025 for the Special Olympics USA Unified floorball team. These Games mark something of a culmination of decades worth of working with their athletes, together, as a couple.
“Over the years, we’ve come to recognize that our coaching styles are totally different,” said Joe. “One does the coaching, other the paperwork, one calms someone down and the other keeps focus on the game and so on.”
Despite their contrasting coaching styles, Nancy and Joe are totally aligned when it comes to their commitment to their athletes. Their connections aren’t simply coach and athlete, or mentor and mentee. This is a close-knit family group, who have known one another for decades, and developed the kind of love that only consistency, respect and trust create.
“We are so, so lucky,” said Nancy, speaking to their team chemistry and dynamic. “A lot of our athletes we’ve known for 20 or 30 years.”
“I have one athlete who I’ve been working with since he was 8,” said Joe. “He’s now 34.”
“We know them so well individually, that it’s not a problem to connect,” added Nancy. “There’s not a generalized approach to how you work with Special Olympics athletes, we are so specific to the individual because we know them so well. The phone calls don’t just happen between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.”
Providing a positive experience for every athlete, regardless of ability, is always a top priority for the Bellinis. The decades-long relationships they’ve built with their athletes position them to do this in uniquely powerful, gentle and helpful ways.
As the Special Olympics USA Unified floorball team takes the court for the first time in Italy, spectators will see athletes, Unified partners and coaches alike wrapped in the vibrant red, white and blue of their country. But what spectators will also see, if they look close enough, is the true sense of love that wraps itself around each member of the team, all starting with coaches Joe and Nancy.