Unified hoops helps Warren Woods Tower students make connections
First game is more about friendship than three pointers
Warren Woods Tower High School had its own brand of March madness Friday morning when the first-ever Titans Unified basketball game tipped off just after 8 a.m.
The gym was packed with students, the pep band was playing Sweet Caroline, and the Unified cheerleaders were waving blue and white pom poms. Titans team blue and Titans team white ran out on to the court to the cheers of the raucous crowd.
The national Unified program is a division of the Special Olympics with a goal of promoting social inclusion through sports. Special needs students are paired with general education students to practice and prepare for games.
“It is an opportunity for special needs students to experience a real high school sporting event, to be part of it, and be cheered; it is just really incredible,” said Warren Woods Tower history and leadership teacher Jason Dougherty.
While physical activity and developing athletic skill is part of it, the most important piece of Unified sports is allowing students who might not otherwise cross paths to connect.
“It is really about relationships,” said WWT special education teacher Jenny Weingartz. “These kids were so excited for this and it has really built friendships between kids that might not have otherwise had an opportunity to interact.”
Special education teacher Rachel Buza said preparation for the Unified game had a positive effect on class attendance for many of her students.
“The basketball practices were twice a week and even kids who are chronically absent made sure they were in class so they could go to practice,’ said Buza.
Senior Ava Burke said she and her leadership class cohorts have been working towards this goal since last school year when her teacher, Dougherty, spoke to the class about a Unified game he attended at Grosse Pointe South. Immediately, Burke’s interest was sparked. The leadership class participates in a peerto-peer program that does different activities with special needs students twice a week. Burke thought Unified sports would fit right into that framework.
“I started working on this last year, but it was very late in the semester and I didn’t have enough time to actually put together a game,” Burke said. “This year I made this my main priority.
“It is the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.”
Varsity and junior varsity players worked with the special needs players, practicing two times a week leading up to the game. Some players use the standard hoop, but there are baskets
at lower levels that are also used by players who use wheelchairs or can’t reach the standard basket.
“The kids were so excited that the varsity basketball players were working with them,” said Weingartz.
Sophomore junior varsity basketball player John Pondo jumped at the opportunity to help coach the unified players because he likes to try new things and expand his horizons. In the past weeks, he has forged new friendships and learned a lot about himself as a person and a basketball player.
“It gives you a different perspective on the special ed kids,” Pondo said. “You see them in the hallway, but once you sit down and talk to them you see they are really cool and you find that you have a lot in common.
“They may have a disability, but they are just like me in many ways.”
Pondo said he tried to channel his coaches when he was helping the Unified players train for Friday’s big game.
“I think the biggest challenge was getting them to pass the ball,” said Pondo. “Either that or transitioning
from offense to defense.
“But they are a solid team.”
This year, the Unified basketball game was intramural with Warren Woods Tower teams playing against each other. The goal for next year is to have one Titans team play against a Unified team from another school. As electric as the atmosphere was in the gym for this first Unified game, Burke knows it would be even more exciting to play against a team from a different school.
“I think a lot of kids were skeptical at first because when we told them it would be in front of the whole school, they were kind of shy,” said Burke. “But once they got into it they realized it was pretty cool.
“The really great thing is that a lot of the student body has connected with the special education kids and they are just so excited.”
Burke plans to attend Central Michigan University this fall and major in business with a minor in special education.
“This really opened up my career path and that is one of the biggest takeaways,” said Burke.