PHOTOS: Unified Basketball a sport for everyone

Students at Mountain Valley Middle School in Mexico practice their basketball skills after school on Monday afternoon. Playing around the hoop from left are seventh-grader Jackson Rajaniemi, fifth-grader Izaiah Fernandez, volunteer coach Phil Mills, and sixth-grade student leader Madison Blanchard. The students are participating in the Special Olympics Unified Basketball program. At MVMS, the program joins seven student leaders with 13 students with learning disabilities and their coaches. The first game is scheduled at TW Kelly Dirigo Middle School in Dixfield on March 4 at 3:30 p.m. All four of the games will be played between the two teams. Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times

Students at Mountain Valley Middle School in Mexico have a pep-talk following their basketball practice on Monday after school. The students are participating in the Special Olympics Unified Basketball program, which joins student leaders and students with learning disabilities to learn and play basketball together. The first game is scheduled at TW Kelly Dirigo Middle School in Dixfield on March 4 at 3:30 p.m. All four of the games will be played between the two teams. Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times

Mountain Valley Middle School seventh-grader Hunter Gerding, left, and eighth-grade student leader Natalie Desroches practice shooting hoops in the gym on Monday afternoon with other Unified Basketball team members. The Special Olympics program unites student leaders and students with learning disabilities to play basketball together. The first game is scheduled at TW Kelly Dirigo Middle School in Dixfield on March 4 at 3:30 p.m. All four of the games will be played between the two teams. Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times