Greg Echols is one of the most successful track coaches in Alabama history. Before retiring in 2015, he spent nearly four decades in Mountain Brook schools coaching thousands of athletes to run fast, throw far and jump high — and win 68 cross-country and track-and-field state titles.

Now he’s back at work pairing custom, therapeutic cycles with special-needs children, along with some teens and adults, helping them be independently mobile for the first time in their lives. He’s also revamping and revitalizing a decades-old nonprofit to reach his new goals.

Echols is the executive director of AMBUCS Birmingham, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that provides therapeutic tricycles to people with disabilities. Since 2007, the Birmingham chapter has donated more than $380,000 in bikes and trikes in the metro area and beyond.

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Echols said his work with AMBUCS is similar in many ways to coaching track, which he still does part time.

“The biggest thing, honestly, is making a difference,” Echols said. “As a track coach, I have worked with kids others said were not athletic enough or fast enough. You work them and coach their hearts and help them to become more than they thought possible. It’s the same with these kids. Some families would not think this is something their kids can do. They are happy to just get them out on a trike, and then they are shocked to see that the kids can ride on their own. Some of these kids are mobile for the very first time.”

His work with therapeutic trikes is personal.

“My oldest son, Scott (now 26), lost his leg when he was 4 years old. He would have given anything to be able to ride a bike when he was growing up.”

Using his connections

AMBUCS, which is an acronym for American Business Clubs, was founded in Birmingham in 1922 by Auburn graduate William White. Today, there are 140 AMBUCS chapters across the country, and all are dedicated to bringing mobility and independence to people with disabilities. The Birmingham chapter has local businessman Dave Upton to thank for its re-establishment in 2007.

When Echols became executive director in February 2016, he immediately rebuilt the board of directors and put together an advisory board; both include many of his former athletes or parents of athletes. These are people with valuable connections in the business community and an appreciation for being physically able to do what they want. Some are accountants, lawyers and CFOs, so Echols relies on their experience as he runs the chapter – managing everything from orders to delivery to fundraising.

Jill Peacock, a pediatric physical therapist, is on the Birmingham AMBUCS board of directors and has a child who ran cross-country and track for Echols. She often uses the bright red AmTrykes in therapy sessions. Therapists at The Bell Center, Mitchell’s Place, The Exceptional Foundation and United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham do, too.

The importance of fun

Connor Whitner, 5, gets his new trike from AMBUCS. Connor has cerebral palsy, and the trike was customized especially for him. (Brittany Faush-Johnson/Alabama NewsCenter)

Peacock said her young patients love the trikes.

“When you’re working with kids on rehabilitation, it’s important to find something fun to do. If you get them on a bike, they certainly think that’s fun. It helps tremendously to build strength in their legs and in their core,” she said.

“There’s a neurological component. We work on coordination; they have to learn how to turn the bike and coordinate their legs, with one pulling while the other is pushing. We work on endurance and heart rate once they get going. The trikes help us work on range of motion, too. It’s a lot more fun than just saying, ‘Lie down on the floor and do 10 straight leg raises.’ So we use the trikes for many different reasons, depending upon the child and the goals and what’s realistic.”

Peacock said she helps get AmTrykes to several kids each year.

“I think having these bikes is very special and unique. You can’t just go out and purchase one at Walmart or Target or even online. They are specialized for kids with disabilities. It’s important to try to make them available to as many kids as possible who would benefit from them.

“It’s wonderful to watch a child’s face when they first see an AmTryke,” Peacock said. “They just light up.”

The specialized vehicles have a positive impact on parents, too.

“A lot of parents never thought their child could ride a bike,” Peacock said. “The children get bigger and don’t fit on a regular tricycle, and they can’t balance on a bike, even with training wheels. But they can ride the AmTrykes. That means a lot to the parent of a child with special needs. They want their child to be able to do some of the things that a typical child can do.”

‘Ride like me’

Peacock was on hand when Connor Whitner, 5, and Daniel Smith, 8, received their AmTrykes.

Connor Whitner, left, and Daniel Smith are ready to ride after getting AmTrykes from Greater Birmingham AMBUCS. (Brittany Faush-Johnson/Alabama NewsCenter)

Connor is a patient of Peacock’s, but he waited a little impatiently while she made sure the seat height was right and adjusted the trike straps. “I’m ready to go outside,” he said. His mom, Rachael, said Connor, who has cerebral palsy, does everything her other children do. “We go hiking. He swims. He loves the beach.” Now that he has the trike, he can ride bikes with his siblings. He said he was ready to “go, go, go.”

Daniel’s mom, Dana, smiled as she watched her son try out his new trike. He pedaled around a large room in the AMBUCS building while his dad, Wayne, guided him using the bike push bar. “Once he figures it out, he’ll be signing to go outside and ride all the time,” she predicted.

She’s planning a “ride like me” event for her son at Veterans Park. Her idea is similar to the National Down Syndrome Society Buddy Walk. She’s inviting Daniel’s friends and classmates to bring their bikes to ride that day and celebrate his birthday. “He’s not been able to ride with them before now,” she said.

The bikes and trikes do more than just make the kids who use them mobile like their friends. “One of the things we fight is weight gain with these kids,” Echols said. “It’s not just muscle memory and range of motion, which also are important. This gives them an opportunity to exercise.”

Helping more kids

Daniel Smith and Connor Whitner try out their brand-new trikes from AMBUCS. (Brittany Faush-Johnson/Alabama NewsCenter)

His AMBUCS operation is a lean one, so Echols has created a nonprofit incubator in the Vestavia Hills building owned by the local chapter. Wish 2 Enrich, which partners with schools and other organizations to bring extracurricular activities like dance, art, music and sports to children in low-income communities, has office space there. Down Syndrome Alabama; People First of Alabama, which gives a voice to adults living with disabilities; North Star Karate, with its programs dedicated to students challenged by special needs; Immanuel Counseling Ministries; and RCS Counseling have offices in the same building.

Echols said sometimes the families needing bikes also need the help of other organizations. The rent paid by the tenants provides additional funding for AMBUCS, so more trikes can get to the children who need them.

AmTrykes cost between $200 and $1,000, but most are outfitted for about $650. Some have pedal assistance and steering and braking mechanisms that can be controlled by a therapist or parent. Some have traditional foot pedals, while others are hand-propelled. Some have bucket seats so a child can be safely strapped in.

How it works

The process of getting an AmTryke to a child starts with a recommendation from a therapist. If funds are available, Echols contacts the national office and orders a trike to fit the child. “Sometimes those folders sit (on my desk) for a week; sometimes they sit there longer,” Echols said. “My goal is to find ways so that no child has to wait more than a month for a trike.”

Greater Birmingham AMBUCS is working to grow so it can provide trikes to more children with shorter wait times. (Brittany Faush-Johnson/Alabama NewsCenter)

The chapter requires a $100 down payment on each AmTryke. “Beyond that $100, we encourage families to donate something or fundraise,” Echols said. “Some can’t afford anything. Some families donate back the cost, paying it forward. Today, someone paid full price, so we’re able to turn right back around tomorrow and order a trike for someone else.” Several families, he said, have raised money through friends, churches, schools and on Facebook. The AMBUCS website, www.trykes.org, offers ideas.

Once ordered, the trikes are shipped to Bayliss Machine & Welding in Birmingham, where they are assembled at no charge. “The folks there – Mike Bayliss and his guys — are wonderful people,” Echols said. “They donate their time and their energy to this.” Echols picks up the trikes, notifies the therapists and families who ordered them and arranges to have them fitted to each child.

He said he’s seen kids cry when they get their own trike. One child just stood still next to the new AmTryke until she realized it was hers. Then she ran to Echols and hugged him and spent the next half-hour riding around and saying thank you. “Some parents tell me their child would sleep on the trike if they could,” he said.

Children can trade in their trikes every two years for another that fits better or is better suited to their changing needs.

Making a difference

Echols sees his organization growing, too, and the results-focused former head coach is not afraid of pushing that growth.

“One thing we’re going to try to do,” Echols said, “is to offer monthly continuing education sessions for therapists so we can get as many as possible trained to fit the bikes to patients.”

More requests mean more fundraising. Donations come from individuals as well as corporations and foundations. Not long ago, Echols received 33 applications in six weeks, so he’s learning to write grants. He uses his extensive social media network and recently asked friends to download the Planet Fundraiser app so that a percentage of grocery purchases will be donated to his organization. He’s hoping this grassroots effort will add up. “If I can get a bike a week to these kids, that’s pretty huge.”

Echols said his work with AMBUCS is more of a calling than a job.

“Coaching track was a calling,” he said. “There’s no doubt that’s where God called me to be. Right now, this is where I’m supposed to be.

“This makes a difference in these kids’ lives,” he added. “This might be the biggest thing they’ve ever gotten. It’s like Christmas in July. It’s a present they get to use. What do you give to a child who doesn’t have mobility or who doesn’t have a whole bunch of coordination? These kids realize they can do what other kids can do. Suddenly, they get to be like everyone else. That’s a pretty big deal.”