Inclusive Sports

One of the hardest times in my life was in grade and middle school years, especially after COVID. I purposely kept to myself and made no effort to reach out; one could say that I was mostly drifting through school without any plan on how I could bounce back. Fast forward to my high school years, and I’m still in that static mindset. I was in a special resource room and an aide that I worked with said there’s a classroom she thought I might be interested in. It was Unified Physical Education (Unified PE). I said, “Why not?” and was later enrolled. As the months went by and I opened up to it, a sense of belonging began to open up. If it weren’t for the Unified class, I don’t think I would’ve spoken more than 50 words during an average school day. I’ve done Unified track, soccer, and basketball, and this year I coached Unified basketball and joined the boys’ tennis team. I have made so many great memories and friendships that I thought would never happen, like Grant. This class definitely taught me a lot of patience, more consideration of what people are talking about, and guided me through addressing people’s needs and making sure everyone has a voice.

I am on the Special Olympics Illinois Unified Generation Committee, alongside Grant, where people come from all over Illinois and we collaborate on themed weeks, events, and different ways we can promote inclusion and respect across Illinois. I’m also on Club Unified in which every month on a Wednesday we come together and do services that benefit our classrooms and communities.

There’s a misunderstanding that people with disabilities can’t do everything as good as people without disabilities can do. As a Unified group, we’re able to lift up their voices to show that people with disabilities can do just as good as everybody else. People with disabilities are just as dedicated as anyone. They make jokes, they can play along, they can have lifelong relationships with their peers, but most importantly, they can be any other person on this planet.

One of the more memorable experiences I’ve had was during our banner signing, when all of us on the Unified Generation Committee spoke about why inclusion matters at Limestone. When we revealed that banner, I remember everybody cheering and going nuts. Our whole PE class came down and celebrated that moment. It was then I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to guide children through programs that help them with their intellectual disabilities. This program has changed my life, and it would be an honor to change other people’s lives and make a difference in theirs.

During those years right after COVID, I didn’t know who I wanted to be. And I can confidently say that now I know that I intend to help people that are different just like me.