Trisha Yurochko
Contributor | 2013
Hometown: Mountainside, New Jersey
ince being pulled into wheelchair sports as a van driver during the 1987 Junior National Wheelchair Championships at Rider University in New Jersey, Trisha went on to became a coach for the Children’s Specialized Hospital, Children’s Lightning Wheels under then Coach Andy Chasanoff. When Andy left the Hospital in 1997, Trisha became the Head Coach. In that role she continued the hospitals initiative to make sporting opportunities available to all patients as well as counsel families on the benefits of sports participation and being part of a team.
Beyond coaching the Lightning Wheels, Trisha filled many sporting roles, both locally and nationally, all working towards providing opportunities for youngsters with a physical disability to participate in sport. These roles included being the Meet Director for the Children’s Specialized Hospital Track and Field Invitational and the Tri-State Regional Swim meet; serving as Treasurer for the Tri-State Wheelchair and Ambulatory Sports Association; being a coach and administrator for TEAM USA Junior Travel teams; being a National Classifier; working as a National Level USATF official with Para certification; and finally as a member of the Junior Committee for Adaptive Sports USA to name a few.
Trisha’s roles at Children’s Specialized Hospital went beyond coaching to many other jobs, such as the Media Coordinator and Marketing Coordinator in addition to her position as Head Coach of the Children’s Lightning Wheels. Her interest in sports for the disabled grew as she expanded her involvement nationally. She was the Meet Director for three Junior Nationals in 2001, 2008 and 2015 in New Jersey, including the 2008 Games that served as the International Wheelchair & Ambulatory Sports (IWAS) World Junior Games.
Trisha was a National Level USATF official with the Para Certification as well as a USATF coach and Level 1 Archery Coach. She was a board member of Stay-Focused, a 501(C)(3) charitable organization dedicated to offering teens with disabilities the opportunity to enjoy the water through scuba diving. Finally, starting in 2016 she was a coach for the New York Road Runners Wheelchair Training Program for New York City kids with physical disabilities.
In recognition of many of these contributions she was awarded the Ted Kaplan award in 2016. Her commitment to advancing sporting opportunities for the disabled community was outstanding and often went above and beyond sport.
