Unified basketball comes to Section VII

TICONDEROGA — You can still hear the thud of the basketball on the court at Ticonderoga High School. A group of 15 youth — boys and girls — have come together to form the first-ever unified basketball program in Section VII, and the school hopes it will be something that catches on. "The unified program is a mixture of special education and regular education students who don't often get the chance to play sports or to be on a team," coach Alexandra Smith said. "We hope this season will start to generate interest in more Section VII schools." "I was very excited to hear we were starting a unified team," said coach Kendra McCoy, who had previously coaches a unified squad in the Rochester area before coming to Ticonderoga as a physical education teacher. "I loved it," she said. "It's about the simple things. Making a basket, getting a steal on defense and seeing the kids reactions." The program was brought to the district through Athletic Director Bob Sutphen, who said the school was able to receive a grant to help start the program. "I think it made sense that Ticonderoga take the lead on this," Sutphen said. "It's something our school supports and when you think about it, this was a no-brainer. It is a positive experience for these students and we want to see this take off in other schools in Section VII. It's a program the state special education department has been helping with seed money to get going and year-to-year, you get a lot of bang for your buck." The team was equipped with new uniforms and gear for the program, and the grant will also help for transportation costs, mostly to the Glens Falls area to play against other unified teams. The team will also hosted a pair of home games, one on May 9 and a second on Thursday, May 19, at 4:30 p.m. Sutphen also said the coaching duo has been a big part of a successful opening season. "Alex and Kendra are a big part of this," he said. "They were both natural choices for this job with the experience they have." "I think we have good numbers for our first year, because going into an opening season can be skeptical," McCoy said. "The team has been working hard and the smiles on their faces were huge when they saw their uniforms for the first time." "This was a much better turnout than I ever expected," Smith said. "At the start it was about getting to know the players and starting out with the most basic skills, even knowing when they wear their white jersey or purple." Prior to the May 9 game, McCoy was doing just that, showing the kids how to go through pre-game warm-ups, including how go through the announcement on the players names. "They love it," Smith said. "They seem to be learning and they are also making friends, which is a huge part of the program." As for the players, they have enjoyed their chance to take to the court wearing the Sentinel name. "I wanted to have fun and play basketball and this has been a good experience for me," said sophomore Joe Johns. "I have learned to be kind and play as a team with my teammates." "I wanted to help out with the team and have some fun playing basketball," said junior Alex Sharrow. "It has been fun teaching kids how to play the game." Smith and McCoy also have a group of managers with experience to pull from, including Delany Hughes, Brett Mosier, Kristen Paladrani, Brittany Bruce, Rachel White, Evan Graney, Emily Hood, Haleigh Wright, Jessica Bruce, Doug Baker and Sam Shelmidine. Organizers hope when the season ends, they will have something to bring to the rest of the section. "There are several schools I could see getting involved in this," Sutphen said. "Once they see the success it generates and just how good the program is, I think we will see more local teams from throughout the section." Sentinel Unified Basketball Player No Grade Damon Gregson 2 9 Jeremiah Hurlburt 5 10 David Carpenter 10 9 Ryan Perry 11 10 Mandy Moore 12 10 Shania Hurlburt 20 10 Sandra Carpenter 22 11 Alex Sharrow 23 11 Anna Hayes 24 10 Autumn Smith 30 10 Cassy Reale 31 11 Gabe Wertz 32 9 Joe Johns 33 10 Taylor Bolton 34 9 Fahad Gondal 35 9 Coaches: Alex Smith and Kendra McCoy

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Unified basketball comes to Section VII

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