WE ARE NR… and we are a “nationally recognized Special Olympics Unified Champion School!” reads the new banner to be hung at NRHS. The recognition officially acknowledges the achievements NRHS has made in creating unified opportunities for student-athletes of all abilities to practice and compete together in a variety of sports. (Maureen Doherty Photo)
By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — The slogan “We are N.R.” has taken on an even more special meaning in Hornet nation following the recent acceptance of North Reading High School as a national Unified Champion School by Special Olympics.
It took three years of building relationships between the athletes and their partners, and three years of applying for acceptance into the program. But all involved agree that it was well worth that effort.
“It’s just fun! There’s a new challenge behind every game. New team, new challenge. I just enjoy it a lot.” That is how Hornet Unified Sports team co-captain Katerina Foley, a 12th grader, describes her experience as a member of the Hornets’ Unified Basketball and Unified Bocce teams.
Adds fellow co-captain Annie Kuperstein, also a 12th grader, “Honestly, I am not really a sports person. I think just having the community where we are all trying something new and we’re all new to the sport makes it more playful and more exciting all the time.”
“And it’s with people that you wouldn’t normally play with. I wouldn’t consistently interact with the football captains. And it’s just nice being able to see new people every week,” Kuperstein said.
Kuperstein explained, “Over the past three years we started with our Unified Bocce team and then last year we added a Unified Basketball team because playing ‘unified’ means students with and without intellectual disabilities play together, and really just create a culture of inclusion.”
She said they have applied for this national banner from Special Olympics for the past three years but were not approved for the honor until this year. The difference between this year’s application and their previous applications was the community engagement, involvement and support they received.
“Having the full town come and support our games really helped us and really showed that we were going the extra mile for inclusion,” Kuperstein said.
Unified Sports coach Jonathan Hudson agreed. “I really do think it is a community achievement because the amount of people who came to support our team, especially at our home games, was amazing.”
Hudson, who is also a special education teacher at NRHS, explains that a Unified Sports season typically includes a weekly practice and five games. They hosted two home and three away basketball games last year. This coming year also marks the first time their Unified team will participate in a basketball jamboree, which he said would take place in November.
The Unified Basketball season is held in the fall and ends just before Thanksgiving, around the time that the Hornets girls’ and boys’ basketball teams begin practicing for their winter seasons.
Foley said it was Coach Hudson who introduced her to the Unified Basketball team. “It seems to be going really well for me,” she said.
Hudson explained that the teams are co-ed and open to “anyone who is interested.”
Adds Kuperstein, “We have open practices. Anyone can pop in and pop out at any time. There is more of a commitment to go to the games. Really anyone can join at any point in the year.”
“The practices are just as important if not more important than the games to me because that’s where a lot of the social opportunities happen and the relationships are built,” Hudson said. “You see kids passing in the hallways and everybody is saying ‘Hi!’ to everybody, so as much as the games are awesome because we have the crowds, the practices are just as important if not more important.”
At the first basketball practice of the season a total of 21 students participated and Hudson knows of several students who were unable to attend. Last year at several of their practices over 30 students participated. “It’s a good ratio as it was split almost 50/50 between our athletes and our partners,” Hudson said.
Next Thursday, October 6, the first ever Unified Basketball game between two Cape Ann League teams will be hosted by North Reading High School. Tip off is after school at 3:30 p.m. and anyone in town is welcome to attend and cheer on the Unified Hornets as they face off against the Unified Triton Vikings.
Kuperstein said the captains of several varsity sports teams participate on the Unified Basketball team, including football captains Alex Carucci and Matt Guidebeck, soccer captain Jenna DiNapoli and basketball captain Brianne Slattery.
The winter sport of choice for the Hornets’ Unified team is bocce. “When basketball ends around Thanksgiving we turn our attention bocce. And we start bocce practices once a week. It’s the same numbers (of participants) and usually the same kids. It’s a lot of fun,” Hudson said.
They’re all very excited about the statewide Unified Bocce Tournament that NRHS will host on Saturday, January 28. They’ll transform the high school’s Main Street into a series of six bocce courts to accommodate all the teams that will participate.
“It will be up and down Main Street. It’s a really big event through the state,” Kuperstein said.
“For the event we’re hosting PVC piping separates them into six courts. It’s pretty cool. I was surprised how much fun it is,” Hudson said. And everyone has a unique role that contributes to the program’s overall success. “I have to say, Annie, the group of partners, they are what makes this whole thing…the energy that they bring to that bocce tournament – and the energy at our first practice – I can set it up, but the energy that they bring is unreal!”
