Unified Sports for EVERYONE

“I couldn’t imagine teaching anything else,” said Warren Coker, teacher of the new Unified Sports Class at West Florence High School.

The Unified Sports class brings together student athletes of the PMD program and unified helpers that attend West Florence during 2nd block this semester.

One of the big influences for the Unified Sports Class was the Special Olympics, which took place during the spring of 2022. This event led many to see a need for this new class because these unified athletes didn’t have the opportunity to interact with other members of WF.

“Kids wouldn’t have an outlet without classes like this,” said Coker.

The implementation of the Unified Sports class is now taking place in all three high schools in Florence 1 Schools.

“It makes them feel included because they get to participate in extracurricular activities,” said Denise Windham, teacher of the PMD class.

This class is a phenomenal way for unified athletes of the PMD program and unified helpers to interact with each other and make relationships with people that they wouldn’t make otherwise. These students play games with each other, such as trying to pick up the most amount of bean bags while laying stomach first on a roller board. During one class session, they also played a relay race. The unified helpers did an amazing job with communication and all students seemed to have a great time.

“This class allows me to have friends from different walks of life,” said senior Bryson Graves

The Unified Sports class seems to be very fruitful for the unified partners participating. It gives them an opportunity to build compassion, build humility and adapt with kids who are different from them.

“It has taught me to treat everyone with respect, be kind to everyone, and appreciate your time on Earth,” said senior Darren Lloyd.

The lessons and values learned by students in this class will be very valuable to them for the rest of their life. However, these elements that can be taken from the Unified Sports Class could and be used on a much wider scale than just the students taking the class.

“The world needs to learn to be patient, non judgemental, and [learn] how to work with people with differe

nt opinions and different levels of abilities,” said Coker.

Unfortunately, people who might look or act differently than the “status quo” can be outcast in today’s society. A little inclusion can go a long way in a lot of people's lives.

“It is important not to judge a book by its cover and be the best version of yourself,” said senior Jordyn Perry.

The lessons and aspects taken from the Unified Sports Class can be learned and used by everyone, which is what inclusion is all about.