Unified Friendships Through Unified Sports

It's rare in high school sports to see a game where everyone in the stands is cheering for both teams and nobody cares about the final score.

On Wednesday, February 15th, Grant High School’s Special Olympics Unified Basketball team played Cleveland High School. The stands were full of Grant and Cleveland students, parents, community members, teachers, Grant’s band, and members of Grant Youth Basketball. At the beginning of the game, all members of both teams were announced, and every player received big cheers. There were posters in the gym for the seniors on the team. The energy in the gym was overwhelmingly positive, and cheers erupted every time either team scored a basket. During the game, a “Minute to Win it” fundraiser raised $450 for Special Olympics.

Students with disabilities often don’t have the opportunity to play on their high school sports teams. Special Olympics Unified Sports brings students with and without disabilities together on the same basketball team. In addition, Unified Sports helps break down stereotypes, build community connections, and promotes social inclusion. The bottom line is that sports are a common denominator for people with and without disabilities, bringing everyone together through a positive community event.

Being the coach of Grant’s Unified Basketball team, I get to witness first hand the members of the team who probably wouldn’t interact with each other if it weren’t for Special Olympics, coming together at practice and becoming fast friends. The entire Grant boy’s golf team volunteered and helped at practices and as facilitators on the court. At practice, we play games like monkey in the middle, and scrimmage so that the athletes with and without disabilities can work together and get to know each other as human beings. One time, our practice got cancelled because of a school assembly, and all the members of the team were extremely disappointed because they love hanging out and playing basketball with everyone.

On the bus ride to our first game, everybody was laughing and joking all the way out to Forest Grove. At games, the volunteers without disabilities make sure that everyone gets the opportunity to score. After our first game (which we lost), one member of the team told me that “we are the best team ever!”

It was incredible to see the support from the entire school and community at the big game on the 15th of February. The next day at school, students all over campus talked about the game, and all of the members of the team were walking on air. Unified Sports shows the students at Grant that people with disabilities have a lot more in common with people without disabilities, especially if we take the time to get to know them and support them.