Erie County's Special Olympics program is looking for volunteers. For now, athletes are sitting on the sidelines.

At 4 feet 7 inches tall, Kacie Shaffer of Girard will not likely catch the eye of a WNBA recruiter.

But that doesn't mean she's not passionate about basketball — as well as bowling and track and field.

That's why the 26-year-old, a Special Olympics participant since fifth grade, was disappointed when she learned in September that the Erie County Special Olympics program had canceled its fall sports schedule, including bowling, soccer and bocce. The county program is separate from the school-based city Special Olympics program, which continues as usual.

"It's a really big deal to Kacie," her mother, Candy Shaffer, said. "She gets really excited about the tournament and she adores all her coaches."

Kacie Shaffer wasn't the only one who had to contend with some disappointment.

Thomas Kegerreis, 52, has a collection of 79 Special Olympics medals in the bedroom of his home in Millcreek Township. He was hoping to add to that collection this year.

"He has lost sleep over this," his mother, Marjorie Kegerreis said. "They don't understand. How can they just not have it?"

The reason came in a letter in September from Jim Binz, western field director for Special Olympics.

The bottom line, Binz said Tuesday, is there aren't enough volunteers to meet the organization's requirement of one volunteer for every four athletes as well as enough volunteers to fill an 11-person management team that's mandated by Special Olympics, the world's largest sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities.

Binz, who is based in Pittsburgh, said in his letter that Mary Zubetz, the longtime manager of the countywide Special Olympics program, which serves about 300 athletes, was moving out of that role.

Binz praised Zubetz for years of service and hard work, but said she had been challenged in recent years to find enough volunteers.

"For years, wherever you looked, Mary was involved," Binz said. "She coached every sport. She did everything. It was too much."

Binz, who is serving as interim manager, said canceling the fall season was a difficult decision.

"I hate to ever have to shut down programs for athletes," he said. "I think in the long run it's going to make this program stronger and better. In the last couple years we have had three or four volunteers doing everything. They have been doing it joyfully, but that's a lot. If anybody is going to burn out, it's these people."

Norm Beatty, a Special Olympics basketball coach for the past 25 years, isn't worried about burning out.

But Beatty said he is concerned about disappointing the families who have come to depend on the program as a means to socialize, exercise and feel a sense of achievement.

"I am frustrated with what is going on for the athletes and the parents. This is what they look forward to. That's their fun," he said. "It's also frustrating to us coaches who look forward to helping out. We are all wanting to make this work."

For Beatty, it's about more than passing drills and layups.

"The bond you get with these athletes going to birthday parties and graduation parties. You really get connected to these families," he said. "This program is an absolute necessity here in Erie County."

Thomas Kegerreis, who reliably rolls 100 or better at the bowling alley, likes basketball even better and hopes Special Olympics will be ready when he is.

"I enjoy the practice," he said. "And I like the people."

Binz said Special Olympics could still use volunteers, both to help with teams and to round out the management team. There's a place for people with organizational skills, social media skills and a wide range of other abilities, he said.

There is other work to do, Binz said. He hopes to see Erie County Special Olympics build not only a larger network of volunteers, but also to expand the number of facilities available for practice and competition across the county.

Binz feels confident that there will be work for Beatty and other coaches to do when the basketball seasons starts early next year.

"I am very confident," he said. "We are so close, a couple more volunteers and we are there."

Beatty said he's been worrying about the future of the program. But after talking with Binz on Tuesday, he's hopeful that the canceled fall season won't happen again.

"I'm going to see what happens," he said.

Shirley George, of Fairview Township, said her 51-year-old daughter, Chris George, would normally have played soccer this fall.

"She loves it," she said of her daughter. "It's a social event as well as exercise. I think it's a good activity for Chris as well as the rest of them."

But there's more to it.

Shirley George sees it when her daughter talks with her nieces and nephews about their own soccer teams. And she saw it when her daughter's nephew showed up to practice with her team.

"She did the best she ever did," her mother said.

That hints at what Special Olympics means to her daughter, Shirley George said.

At those moments, Chris George and the other athletes in the family are all peers playing the same game.

"It's very hard to know what she thinks, but I think it makes her feel like she's pretty much the same," she said.

Jim Martin can be reached at 870-1668 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ETNMartin.