Players on the Unified Soccer Team take to the pitch at Cheney's Crunk's Sports Complex.
CHENEY – Parents and children gathered at the Crunk's Sports Complex in Cheney on Wednesday, March 30, to watch the spring season's first unified sports soccer game.
The unified sports program allows students with intellectual disabilities to participate in team sports and discover how sports can enrich their daily lives.
The program is an extension of the Special Olympics.
"We have to give kudos to our parents, our athletes, admin, high and low, and last but not least, my coaches," said Brain Baxter, head coach of Unified Sports.
Baxter has been with the program for about 10 years. This year he has put together four sports; bowling in the fall, basketball in the winter, and soccer and track and field in the spring.
"My parents came up to me and asked can we have track and field?" Baxter said. "So right when we get done with soccer (next month), we're jumping into track and field. We're doing four sports this year with these kiddos."
Cheney's Unified Sports Program is directly supported by the Special Olympics' Play United organization.
"I reach out to them all the time," Baxter said.
Play Unified supplies Cheney's unified sports with everything from equipment to stipends for supplies. It goes a long way not for just the students competing in the sports themselves but for the community at large. It promotes inclusivity and tolerance for people in the community that may identify as being neurodivergent or having a mental disability.
The program's benefits, according to Baxter, are clearly spreading through Cheney with the help of volunteers who help the unified students during each sporting event. These volunteers are referred to as partners and can be spotted passing the ball to the unified students during a match (or a basketball game) to help set them up to score goals.
"We have so many people volunteering," Baxter said. "It's a big hit and exciting to see everyone working together for a common cause."
Anyone interested in volunteering or helping with Cheney's Unified Sports Program can contact Brian Baxter at [email protected].
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