The Peninsula school district is proud to support Unified Basketball, an eternally important team sport that allows every student to participate. Unified basketball is, in short, basketball with the purpose of being inclusive towards teens in our community who have learning differences and particular needs. These teens are given an opportunity to grow their athletic abilities and participate in games with the help of their partners—a fellow student who they play and practice with and who offers them assistance as needed. “I like playing with my friends,” claimed Annika Urvina (12). The student athletes, Annika Urvina, Mia Magee (11), and Haley Nieuwenhuizen (12), emphasize how much playing the sport with their friends means to them. Nieuwenhuizen stated that her basketball partner, Grace McKee (12), is her best friend, a friend who she met through Unified Basketball, and a relationship that extends beyond school thanks to the connection basketball brought them. It is clear from the girl’s strong connections to their teammates and each other that unified basketball is a sport that brings them together and gives them a sense of community in one another.
The love is mutual for the athletes’ assisting partners. McKee finds a lot of joy in getting to interact with her partner, Nieuwenhuizen, on the regular. “My partner Haley is always so sweet and bubbly. Constantly giving me high fives and just a joy! She’s also really good at making baskets,” said McKee. The senior expressed that she actually prefers participating in unified basketball over the regular basketball she’s been a part of in past years. McKee’s original plan entering high school was to play basketball her freshman and sophomore years and wrap it up as a junior. As Mckee first began casually witnessing the Unified team at work, she thought it looked incredibly enjoyable, and when she decided not to continue basketball this year, she thought it would be a fun alternative to help out with Unified. The atmosphere that the Unified Basketball Team has cultivated is one that uplifts every player. McKee describes the genuine responses of her teammates, with their constant clapping, cheering, and encouragement even for the smallest win, and her love of their excitement that brings life to every game.
The Unified team practices for games two times a week, meeting together in the school gym to build on their skills of teamwork and athleticism. When asked what they do at practice, Urvina says with a laugh that they run. The team laughs in agreement, and it is clear from her humor that running is far from Urvina’s favorite thing about basketball. The athletes work hard with their partners at every practice, where they exercise and build on techniques, including shooting, playing defense, and passing. Nieuwenhuizen stated that her favorite thing about playing is shooting hoops. When she makes a successful basket, she is filled with a sense of reward and accomplishment, a skill she gets to build during practice hours.
The GHHS Unified Basketball Team plays the unified basketball teams of rival schools that they have experience playing from last year’s season, schools such as Fife, Stadium, Emerald Ridge, and Peninsula. Every athlete gets different things out of their experience playing team sports, and the same is true for our Unified students. For Urvina, playing with her friends was always a special moment for her last season, deepening her sense of camaraderie and teamwork as she grew close to her peers. Nieuwenhuizen recalls the fun she had last season, the most fun for her being the action—passing the ball, blocking shots, and playing defense—making her a whirlwind on the court. The girls beam with pride as they recount their experience winning games. Magee says her special moment was last year when the Unified team went out onto the gym floor during a sports assembly and were recognized for their hard work and spirit as a team. At the end of their previous season, the team celebrated with a banquet of pizza, cake, and donuts in the school cafeteria to commemorate their victory together.
The unified basketball community is one that plays with the goal of supporting each other completely and honing their skills to play as a synchronized group, with each individual bringing their unique abilities to the game. This ambitious team amps up for the bright season of teamwork and learning ahead of them as they prepare for their first game of the season, on January 18. Our unified basketball team will be hosting the game here at GHHS, and with their skills and hard work, they have ensured for themselves many future wins.