EVANSTON — A fixture on the courts and ball fields in Evanston since he was a kid, Dave Deru took that passion for sports and parlayed it into a career as a teacher and a coach.

Yet despite the success he’s found in both areas at Evanston High School since returning to his hometown after college, what he’s perhaps most proud of is his work with the Special Olympics, an organization he has been a part of as a volunteer and a coach for the better part of two decades.

His efforts have now been recognized by Special Olympics Wyoming, courtesy of an email he recently received informing him that he’d been chosen as Wyoming’s nominee for the 2019 Special Olympics North America Coach of the Year.

“It was a surprise, for sure,” Deru said earlier this week. “I sift through a lot of emails from Special Olympics Wyoming that they send out, just general information, stuff like that. I came across the email from Bobby Casey [director of competition and training for SOWY], and I was like, ‘What’s going on here, what are they saying?’ I had to read it like four or five times, and then I said, ‘Wow, that’s pretty cool.’”

Casey’s email thanked Deru for his years of service, dedication, commitment and leadership.

“We feel you provide a significant impact on your athletes, program and the mission of Special Olympics,” Casey wrote. “You represent the type of coach we wish to have throughout the state of Wyoming.”

Special Olympics North America will be selecting a winner on January 10, 2020.

“I’m excited to be nominated, and I’m excited for our program,” Deru said. “I was a Special Olympics volunteer when I went to school here, 7th through 12th grade. I loved it, and that’s how I got into teaching and coaching — through Special Olympics.”

When Deru returned to Evanston after college, he realized the community no longer had a Special Olympics program. He and some other volunteers resurrected the program five years ago, quickly turning it into one of the top programs in the state; though there are other Special Olympics groups in Evanston, Deru’s focus is on the school-age program.

“We’re the biggest unified sports program in the state, so it’s been cool to see our whole program come a long way,” he said. “Special Olympics is treated here like a regular sport — like basketball or football — and we get to use a school bus, we get a budget. So for that reason, our focus is the high school kids.”

The current JV girls’ hoops coach at EHS, Deru credits one of his old friends, Mike Wilkerson, for getting him involved in Special Olympics way back in middle school.

“Mike had a disabled cousin, so he got involved in Special Olympics early,” Deru recalled. “He came to me in seventh grade and said ‘Dude, you have to do this with me, it’s so much fun.’ So I gave it a shot, and that’s how I kind of got into it. I’ve loved it ever since.”

Deru was also a peer advocate during high school, working in the learning lab with the special needs students. Special education teacher Vicki Johnson acted as a mentor for the future educator, and guided him toward a career in teaching.

“I just remember we were in class one day, and the kids were being a little rowdy,” he said. “She [Johnson] couldn’t get them to calm down, and I did something that was able to help. The whole class just got quiet. She grabbed my face and said, ‘You are meant to do this. This is what you’re going to do for a career. You need to be a special ed teacher.’ I was only a sophomore at the time, and that really stuck with me. So I knew from then I was going to go into education and be a special ed teacher. And I love the coaching part of it, too.”

As for the most gratifying part of volunteering with the Special Olympics, Deru said the answer is simple: Working with the athletes and the other volunteers.

“Every athlete, every coach, every volunteer — everybody’s rooting for each other,” he said. “There are winners and losers, it is a competition. But for me, it’s what sports was like way back in the day...It’s like that all the time in Special Olympics. Just to see the smile on their faces, it’s neat to see. It’s pure joy all the time, whether you win or lose.”

Almost 20 years as a volunteer and coach has given Deru a lifetime of memories, though one in particular stands out to him: Coaching Team Wyoming basketball at the 2018 USA Games in Seattle. Over 4,000 Special Olympic athletes descended on the Emerald City, capturing the hearts of more than 100,000 fans; 39,000 fans attended the opening ceremonies alone.

“We stayed on the University of Washington campus, and we were there for a whole week,” Deru said. “It was just a week of what the world should be like. There was never any negativity, it was all positive. Everyone was cheering for one another. We got to the airport at 8 a.m. and there were 14,000 people there cheering us on. Opening ceremonies were held in Husky Stadium, and when you walk out of that tunnel, you should have seen those kids’ faces. I still get goosebumps talking about it. That was the coolest experience coaching-wise I’ve had in any sport or venue. It was unbelievable.”

Though he’s humbled by the recognition that goes along with being nominated for a national award, Deru is quick to deflect praise to his fellow coaches and volunteers, as well as the community of Evanston for its support the last five years.

“There’s thousands of volunteers and coaches across the state of Wyoming that do a wonderful job with Special Olympics,” he explained. “I’m very proud and excited, and this community has been incredibly supportive. Our program is recognized all around the state as one of the best, so I’m happy for all of our coaches and unified athletes. We started up five years ago, and here we are. It shows how much the community of Evanston has put into Special Olympics and to get us recognized around the state. I’m really proud of that.”

Crystal Fry, Area 2 Director of SOWY, said the honor is well-deserved.

“I have been involved with Special Olympics for 10 years, and I can’t remember a time without Dave,” she said. “He is amazing with the athletes and unified partners. He has a heart of gold, and we are so proud of him.”