by Sam Bernstein

As the Program Manager for Adaptive Sports New England, I consider myself to be one of the luckiest people in the world. My job revolves around sports, and I am obsessed with sports- I played three sports for most of my life, went to school for sports management, and have about five different fantasy leagues going. While I might’ve not made it as an athlete myself, it is amazing to be able to constantly assist in the journeys of others who might. I hope they all remember me when they are big hotshots one day!

In 2025, it was amazing working with all the New England-based soccer organizations to run adaptive soccer programming in January for our first time. In the early spring, we launched a new session of wheelchair basketball on the North Shore of MA, which I coached alongside Paul Ward and Ethan Linsky. I caught a number of Boston Strong beep baseball games in the early summer and even got to commentate for one of them. As we got later into the summer, the New England Patriots Wheelchair Football Team found their stride at practice, under my head coaching and Sarah Leonard’s assistance. We then flew out to both Tampa Bay and Kansas City in the early fall for weekend tournaments. At the same time, we had our Program Coordinator Grace working on our track practices in West Roxbury, where I was humbled on Saturday mornings by losing races repeatedly to the kids. Right now, I find myself on weekends at Ursuline Academy coaching youth wheelchair basketball again. If you come within a 5-mile radius of the gym, you can probably hear me shouting out “FISHY, FISHY, CROSS MY OCEAN” as we get the kids sprinting up and down the court.

There were a few moments from this 2025 calendar year that really stand out in my mind as some of the more important moments in my career. The first took place on a beautiful Friday evening in August. I grabbed a large Escalade from a Hertz location near my house and drove to the National Braille Press in Boston, where Boston Strong head coach Joe Quintanilla was waiting for me alongside three other visually impaired athletes. We headed down to Second Beach in Middletown, RI, and within just half an hour of arriving, I found myself in a bright orange “BLIND SURFER” t-shirt while waist-deep in the ocean. We spent hours with members of the Boston Strong and other visually impaired athletes from around New England, riding the warm waves and eating BBQ on the beach. The thrill of watching almost every single person stand up on the board for the first time was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. The important lesson I learned that day is that vision is something that can hold us back sometimes. For someone who can see, the waves can be daunting, and you may find yourself reacting out of fear of what is ahead of you. But for the blind surfers, there was nothing to be afraid of, as they operated based off the feeling of the board, not what they see around them. The instructors were amazed by how much success everyone found that day, and I drove home that night with a massive smile on my face.

The New England Patriots Wheelchair Football Team traveled to both Tampa Bay and Kansas City this year. This team is filled with both men and women with very different backgrounds, but all connected through having lower-body mobility impairments. There are, of course, amazing moments that occur at these tournaments in the games, but the most impactful moments always happen off the field. Some of our players are very open with telling their stories- and include everything from gun violence survivors to accidents resulting in spinal cord injuries. These stories often are told while we hang out in the hotels, and this year was no different. One night this past September, we had about eight guys in one hotel room, all sharing their paths to playing wheelchair football. Jason Biundo, who plays wide receiver/cornerback and is a similar age to me, sat in the room, listening intently to his teammates’ stories. Meanwhile, I sat there, patiently waiting to see if Jason would share his. Jason has been playing for us for three years now, and I had yet to hear him share his injury history in a group setting with the team. Eventually, I saw him gather his thoughts, and he began telling the group about his accident, his recovery and all the amazing things he does now. I won’t spoil all of it, as you can read his recent blog post at https://adaptivesportsne.org/jasonbiundo/. But all the players loved hearing what he had to say, joking with him and giving him love. Some of the stories told that evening had me belly-laughing harder than I have in years. And as the one in the room without a disability, it’s amazing just being part of the group. No one treats me differently, and I gain a new perspective on life with every story. And I’m glad they’re able to open up to me so that I can understand them as a coach.

Not long after that, I got the pleasure of watching Jason take off along the sidelines against the Birmingham Hammers for our longest touchdown reception of the season.

My last favorite moment of 2025 ties back to one of my first moments EVER with Adaptive Sports New England. Back in the spring of 2022, I had just started my role as Program Manager, and we received a call from Joe Q. He was looking to create an all-inclusive beep baseball program (which now has become the amazing Boston Strong you see today). So, we launched weekly practices at the Ellis Oval in Medford, which is Tufts’ football field. When I showed up that first day to help set up and learn the sport myself, I met a young teenager by the name of Matthew de Brigard, alongside his mother Jody. Matthew was fast, athletic, had good baseball knowledge/skills and best of all, was super willing to try it all blindfolded! Over time, he has adapted his baseball abilities to become one of our most dedicated athletes and a leader on the team. I have had the pleasure of watching many of his games live, and I can safely say he is very, very talented. That talent was rewarded this year when he was selected by the National Beep Baseball Association as the youngest all-star! He traveled with Jody this fall to Viriginia, where he not only competed in the all-star tournament but also won it all. To see Matthew go from just a kid with Stargardt disease, showing up to try a sport, all the way to an athlete performing at one of the highest levels of competition in less than four years, has shown me what’s possible. He then served as a guest speaker at our annual dinner celebration just a couple of weeks ago, and it’s been amazing watching his confidence grow alongside his athleticism.

While these moments might be highlights of my 2025, there were so many other great events, practices and conversations that we had. I want to take a moment to thank a few different people/groups:

1. Thank you to the parents who show up every week for their children. I know some of you who will go from 2-3 different programs all on the same day to make sure your kid gets all the opportunities they can, and us coaches notice!
2. Thank you to all our donors who support our organization/programs. Without you, people with physical disabilities wouldn’t have all these amazing sports to participate in. I also wouldn’t have the greatest job on earth.
3. Thank you to all our staff, coaches and volunteers who help make these programs run, both behind the scenes and in person.
4. Finally, thank you to Joe Walsh for listening to me rattle off all my thoughts every day and trusting me to lead initiatives. In case you all couldn’t tell, he’s a pretty cool boss.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season filled with lots of joy and laughter. We have a ton of big plans for 2026, and I can’t wait for you all to see what’s in store!

Your favorite Program Manager,

Sam Bernstein