On March 3, Roosevelt’s Unified basketball team took home a bronze medal in the state tournament to finish off their season. After the long season, which started in late October, the state championship/playoffs consisted of a three day tournament in Wenatchee. Thomas Ledcke, the facilitator for the Unified Club, says that this was a high point of their season: “We won our first game there, so that was really awesome.” What’s so great about Unified Club is, like the name would suggest, it’s unified. Ledcke says,
“Everybody is included it doesn’t matter what kind of skill you have. It’s a no cut sport. Even if you can’t shoot a basket it’s fine. It’s just being there and participating in the sport and the peers will help out.”
As well as basketball, Unified Club participates in soccer, drama, cross country, robotics, and holds numerous events, like the unified dance. The club has been very successful at Roosevelt, as well as the other schools all over the district with whom they compete. The support behind all the school’s teams is the peer mentors, or “partners.” Ledcke says that the partners are a huge part of why the club works, saying “The partners are a really important part of the process, they will assist kids that maybe don’t have the same skill level, and they get everyone included.” He recommends students to join, as it would greatly benefit Roosevelt, who only had one partner during the state tournament, less than most teams who had two to five.
Roosevelt’s Unified Club’s next season will be soccer, starting on March 28. There will be a reminder about the games on the morning announcements, so be sure to go out and show your support!
photos: Lidia Elala
