In this league, inclusivity scores big points
Special Olympics, UAlbany athletes unite within Unified Sports
In the final game of the season for the University at Albany’s Unified Sports soccer league, Purple defeated White 4-1, using relentless offense to wear down the other team’s defenders on Wednesday night.
With a championship, bragging rights and T-shirts at stake — purple for the champions, yellow for the runners-up — White poured on the shots in the final minutes of the game but was unable to tie it up.
Still, the post-game mood was cheerful all around, with plenty of high fives to be had.
The Unified Sports soccer league, one of several such leagues at UAlbany, brings together UAlbany students and Special Olympics athletes, who have intellectual disabilities.
“I just think it’s a great opportunity for people, especially people who have disabilities, because they can be part of the community, and they can feel like a normal human being without being judged, and just have a
fun time,” said Anna Santiago, a Special Olympics athlete.
Everyone involved has the same goal of meeting new people, making friends and staying active.
“It’s a great opportunity to connect with people and to kind of open up your own mind and to reduce some biases that you may have, and you get to be fit, physical,” said UAlbany student Marven Berlus.
“The connections you build with people are years long,” said Corey Nilon, president of UAlbany’s Special Olympics Club.
A junior, Nilon discovered the club in his freshman year and roped in several friends, including Berlus. The goal, he said, is “to create an inclusive sports environment.
“It’s not very often everybody, people with disabilities, get to play in full-blown competitive sports, and I think the program does a really good job at uniting people through athletics.”
Santiago, who also takes classes at UAlbany, said the league has helped her make friends on campus who she can call if she needs help.
“They’re always supportive and helpful,” she said of the UAlbany students in the league. “They don’t care and they don’t see that you have a disability. So that’s just very nice.”
Unified Sports leagues bring participants together as a community, but also in a literal sense — there was more than one minor collision Wednesday night as players fought for the ball.
“I think a lot of times we find that people are actually overly polite to people with intellectual differences, and they don’t want to offend or hurt feelings. So they might just take a few steps back. But that’s not what we want people to do,” said Special Olympics New York CEO Stacey Hengsterman.
UAlbany is one of a handful of college campuses that host Unified Sports leagues. Many high schools have similar programs, but opportunities for Special Olympic athletes in the wider community thin out once they’re adults, according to Hengsterman.
“By involving college students and pairing them with our community athletes, it gives them more competitive opportunities, more opportunities for inclusion,” she said.
“It’s good for everybody to get involved with Special Olympics,” said Phil Isaacson, a Special Olympics athlete who’s been competing in the Unified leagues for several years. “Doesn’t matter how old you are. It can be anybody over 21 that can play.”
Isaacson also plays for the Albany Cougars, a hockey team for players of any age with developmental disabilities. That’s how he met Kevin Musco, who he recruited to the UAlbany club.
Musco’s favorite parts of the soccer league are “hanging out with my friends, making new friends, making her (his dog) happy.”
(Indeed, the dog in question was observed having a great time lounging on the grass during the game and accepting scratches from spectators.)
“I think for me it’s seeing all the talent, and it kind of diminishes the stigmas that are surrounding people that have disabilities. They’re really talented. And everyone here is just here to have a good time and have fun,” Berlus said.
Santiago said the team has helped with her social skills, especially when it comes to communication.
“Working with a team is another way of communicating, another way of letting my energy out, helping my anger come out, sometimes,” she said.
A combine-like process consisting of various drills and running exercises at the beginning of the season is used to determine equal teams.
“The combine for this was harder than I expected, but it was really nice,” Musco said.
Each Unified Sports league, including flag football, basketball and tennis, consists of 10 to 15 athletes from the Capital Region Special Olympics community as well as UAlbany students.
The Special Olympics are unrelated to the Paralympics, though both are recognized by the International Olympic Committee. The Paralympics does not include athletes with intellectual disabilities, and the focus is on elite performance measured against others. The Special Olympics emphasizes individual achievement, though Hengsterman was clear that it’s still competitive.
“We’re not for profit, but we are not charity. This is not everybody runs, everybody wins,” she said. “We are an authentic sports organization that plays by the same rules as anybody else. And why would we think that people with an intellectual difference would ever want anything less?”
In addition to hosting Unified leagues, the Special Olympics Club works on fundraising and advocacy efforts.
Over the winter, the club raised over $1,200 dollars with a polar plunge. Special Olympics New York also works with UAlbany in the classroom. A sixweek program on career skills like speech-writing and public speaking is available to athletes, and UAlbany students in the School of Education’s Human Development program have the opportunity to intern with Special Olympics New York. Santiago heard about the Unified Sports leagues through a class she was taking at UAlbany.
“They’re just really excellent partners,” Hengsterman said of UAlbany.
For those looking to get involved in the Unified Sports league, Musco advised, “Get prepared for a lot of running.”