Coach Jess Merrill, left, joins athletes and partners Thursday in celebrating a basket at James A. Bragoli Memorial Gym as Gardiner Area High School’s newly formed unified basketball team plays its first-ever home game, an 82-70 win over Hall-Dale High School of Farmingdale. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
GARDINER — “You got it, Carson!” a woman yelled from the stands of John A. Bragoli Memorial Gym at Gardiner Area High School.
Carson Hembree was shooting his third free throw at Thursday’s unified basketball game. After the woman’s encouragement, Hembree made the shot and the crowd erupted in cheers.
Hembree, in his first year at Gardiner Area High School, is one of the 15 athletes on the school’s newly formed unified basketball team, which won its first-ever home game 82-70 on Thursday against Hall-Dale High School of Farmingdale.
Coach Jess Merrill, a life skills teacher at the high school, wanted to bring the program to Maine School Administrative District 11 when she realized no unified sports programs existed at Gardiner-area schools.
“Gardiner is working on inclusivity and having more opportunities for special education students,” Merrill said, “and I thought this program is so awesome and I wanted to have it here.”
A unified basketball team — or any form of the unified sports — brings together athletes in a school’s special education program to play on the court with high school student partners. The team is mostly composed of athletes from the life skills program, with five partners to help them. The partners cannot score, but they help the flow of the game.
Partner Jaylynn Carver, left, and athletes Jasmine “Jazzy” Caswell and AJ Ricker move up the court Thursday at James A. Bragoli Memorial Gym as Gardiner Area High School’s newly formed unified basketball team plays its first-ever home game, an 82-70 win over Hall-Dale High School of Farmingdale. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
As with any basketball game, each team has five players on the court. But in a unified game, three athletes take the court with two partners, with team members rotating out every five minutes.
Games have two 20-minute periods and a 10-minute halftime.
On Thursday, the entire student section joined the athletes on the court to dance to the Village People’s anthemic “YMCA.”
The team’s support was apparent as the the unified team drew a crowd that took over nearly all of one side of the gym, with fans carrying posters and signs for the players. Students and other fans cheered every time an athlete stole the ball or sank a basket.
Athlete Jasmine “Jazzy” Caswell, 18, a junior, got used to hearing the crowd yell “Jazzy” with every basket she made.
As Thursday’s top scorer, Caswell made seven baskets and had a couple of steals, moves she said she learned from her brother, who used to play basketball.
Caswell, whose goal this season is to not give up, said hearing the cheers as she plays is her favorite part of being on the team.
Jaylynn Carver, 16, a sophomore, plays as a partner on the team, and said she loves seeing the smiles on the athletes’ faces when they score. Her brother, Cody Carver, is also a partner on the team and her sister, Megan Carver, is one of the team managers. Their aunt, Jen Carver, is an assistant coach with Merrill.
“I got really excited when they asked me to be a part of it,” Jaylynn Carver said. “The program is a lot of fun, and the kids are a lot of fun to work with. It’s a great opportunity.”
A dance party to the song “YMCA” is the halftime entertainment Thursday at James A. Bragoli Memorial Gym as Gardiner Area High School’s newly formed unified basketball team plays its first-ever home game, an 82-70 win over Hall-Dale High School of Farmingdale. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
With the team in its first year, it is considered a club sport. Funding comes from a $3,000 grant from the Special Olympics that covers bus rentals to games, a referee and new uniforms.
Two local businesses — Carver’s Driving Academy and Gosline Insurance Group — have donated to the team, and Northland Design created the jerseys.
Merrill, who also coaches field hockey, said she is not taking a stipend so all available funds can support the team. After two years as a club sport, the team can seek approval from the school board to become a varsity sport.
With only one other game played at Cony last week, Merrill said the athletes are already stars in the school’s hallways.
“It’s been awesome. They get high-fives, the (partners) are walking in the classroom to say hi and they say hi at lunch,” Merrill said. “It’s making my kids visible to the community.”
The team is scheduled to host Cony High School at 3:30 p.m. Monday at John A. Bragoli Memorial Gym at Gardiner Area High School. Other opponents on the schedule include Oak Hill High School of Wales and Boothbay Regional High School, which also have unified basketball programs.
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