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A Pine Valley Excessive Faculty bocce participant is assisted in his taking part in efforts through the use of two hockey sticks to help in his throw throughout a sport held Sept. 30 in Lakewood in opposition to the Jamestown Crimson and Inexperienced.
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Jamestown Excessive Faculty purple and inexperienced gamers congratulate the Pine Valley Panthers bocce ball gamers after a sport in Lakewood. PJ picture by Christopher Blakeslee
A Pine Valley Excessive Faculty bocce participant is assisted in his taking part in efforts through the use of two hockey sticks to help in his throw throughout a sport held Sept. 30 in Lakewood in opposition to the Jamestown Crimson and Inexperienced.
Members of the Jamestown Excessive Faculty Unified bocce group make a particular reminiscence within the group's first season with a visit to Buffalo for the championship video games.
Based on specialolympics.org, a unified sport promotes social inclusion by way of shared sports activities coaching and competitors experiences. Unified sports activities brings collectively folks with and with out mental disabilities on the identical group. It was impressed by a easy precept: coaching collectively and taking part in collectively is a quick observe to friendship and understanding.
HS Athletic Director Ben Drake stated he and the whole faculty district absolutely embrace the bocce group and different unified sports activities groups the college at the moment affords.
“Unified sports activities have been very properly obtained at JHS and we proceed to search for methods to increase this system. Final yr, I heard from just a few faculties within the CCAA (Chautauqua Cattaraugus Athletic Affiliation) that added unified bocce final yr or had been contemplating including it this yr. It's been one other very optimistic addition to our program thus far,” he stated.
Drake added how he sees the way forward for unified sports activities within the district and the potential for program growth.
Jamestown Excessive Faculty purple and inexperienced gamers congratulate the Pine Valley Panthers bocce ball gamers after a sport in Lakewood. PJ Picture by Christopher Blakeslee
“Brenda Degnan is the top coach and Macey Lundmark is the assistant coach. We had been lucky so as to add Brenda as a unified coach as she has a number of expertise with Particular Olympics and bocce specifically. We’ll proceed to judge the unified schedule and contemplate including extra sports activities sooner or later. Unified sports activities have supplied precious alternatives for college kids with disabilities to take part in athletics. As well as, it additionally supplied a beautiful platform for our non-disabled college students to work alongside them and assist them take part efficiently. It was a really rewarding expertise for our athletes, companions, coaches and spectators. This faculty yr, we plan to start out a unified bowling group and a unified basketball group once more,” Drake stated.
The JHS group traveled to Buffalo on Thursday for the Unified Bocce Group Championships.
“The children have been working exhausting to prepare for the season,” Degnan stated. “I'm pleased with them. Unified video games permit athletes to compete, however in addition they get to fulfill college students from different faculty districts and make new pals.”