The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Director: It’s all about exposure, inclusion
School hosts Unified Special Olympics Basketball tourney
Building off the momentum of the Lorain varsity basketball team’s win against Toledo St. John’s in the regional final on March 17, four teams came to Lorain High School for an innovative take on Special Olympics sports.
The Unified Special Olympics Basketball Tournament on March 21 brought together teams from Rocky River High School and Max S. Hayes High School (Cleveland) John Marshall High School (Cleveland), and LincolnWest High School (Cleveland). Featuring coaches that included assistant varsity basketball coach Matt Kielian and coaches Brian Clark and Eddie Hall, Lorain advanced all the way to the championship game before falling to John Marshall by a score of 23-13.
“It was a great day for the student body, students and everybody. It was a great, great time,” Kielian said.
“There was so much positive energy in the room. Everybody’s happy and
“It was an awesome event because the ultimate goal of unified sports is about exposure and inclusion, so to have the whole school engaged was amazing and that is our ultimate goal.”
— Sports and Competition Director Bill Hatfield
this is what it’s supposed to be about it. Our community came out and supported us and it’s just been a great experience overall.”
Fourteen-year-old freshman Sani Smith said he was overcome by the energy of the crowd who piled into the Lorain High School to support the team
“It was amazing. Everyone was going crazy,” Smith said.
Despite coming up short in the championship game, Sani said the coaching staff left the team with some words of encouragement.
“He told us we have to work hard and we did an amazing job,” Sani said. “Lorain, we’re coming back to accept this next year. We’ve got this!”
According to Special Olympics Ohio, Unified Sports brings together equal numbers of athletes with and without intellectual disabilities, of similar age and ability to compete and expanding sports opportunities for athletes seeking new challenges and dramatically increases inclusion in the community.
Sports and Competition Director Bill Hatfield said the tourney was perfect timing and presented a wonderful opportunity to showcase.
“It was an awesome event because the ultimate goal of unified sports is about exposure and inclusion, so to have the whole school engaged was amazing and that is our ultimate goal,” Hatfield said.
He added the Unified portion of Special Olympics is about getting athletes and community members competing together and changing the culture of a school through acceptance and inclusion.
Unified Sports are part of Special Olympics Ohio’s Unified Champion Schools Program of which Lorain is one of 23 schools across Ohio, aiming to build a collaborative and inclusive learning environment for all students.
Unified basketball began in the Cleveland area and Hatfield said Special Olympics Ohio is expanding its focus to the young adult population as a way of building support within communities.
“It’s a huge portion of our program that’s making a big impact not only in our schools but in the community itself,” he said.
Special Olympics Ohio is currently in negotiations to certify Unified track and field competition, adding more options for Unified athletics in Ohio.