EDINBURGH — During a normal year, Unified Basketball teams typically play games against each other in between their schools’ JV and varsity games.
With limited capacities this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it made it tough for the Unified Basketball teams to get together.
Saturday, four high school boys basketball teams cut the nets at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, but there were also other basketball games that commenced at Edinburgh High School that felt just as important to the kids participating from Columbus East, Edinburgh, Indian Creek and Morristown.
Edinburgh Unified coach Amy Schilling said it was tough to find a time because of the holidays and the spring sports starting up, but she eventually coordinated a plan with the other schools to make the games possible.
“My kids were asking when the (next) game was when the last game was,” Schilling said. “For them to play on a school team, they don’t really get those opportunities. Anytime we can give them special opportunities, we want to do that.”
The four schools played a round-robin style format with 10-minute halves. Regardless of what was the outcome on the scoreboard, everyone came out of the event a winner.
“That’s what it’s about — the opportunity,” East Unified coach Josh Gonsior said. “Giving the opportunity to kids that wouldn’t typically have to play a varsity level sport, and also giving the opportunity for other athletes to interact, hang out and meet people that they wouldn’t in just a typical day. It’s going to help go a long way to make our environment more inclusive to everybody.”
Schilling said money raised from donations, admissions, concessions, T-shirt sales goes directly toward funds for the Special Olympics and the Champions Together program.
Schilling also added that one of the components to having a “Champions Together” banner is to have a game. Since the Unified Track season didn’t happen last year, this game takes care of the requirement.
“It’s exciting for all of us to get together no matter if it’s on a basketball court,” East Unified coach Stacey Meier said. “It’s so much fun. For the past year, it’s been sad, and we didn’t have that opportunity, so we were super-excited to be able to do that this weekend.”
Schilling, who started the Unified program in 2017, said Indian Creek has it established to where the kids are getting varsity letters by playing the game. She hopes this can be the beginning for her kids to attain varsity letters in the near future.
