On Tuesday, Jan. 28, the gold Stevenson Allied Basketball teams (who compete in traditional Special Olympics games) competed against the Lake Forest High School’s Special Olympics Basketball team, where they lost 36 – 45. Despite the loss, the athletes and student partners worked together to put up a fight throughout the entirety of the game. 

Allied Basketball is a co-ed program that provides students with disabilities the opportunity to get involved in sports they would not have otherwise had the chance to participate in. In this program, both athletes and student partners are able to learn new skills, ranging from relationship building skills to physical fitness skills. 

Some of the athletes who scored during the game included Daniel Anchen, Platon Antipov, Siddarth Arumgam, Mary Benson, Shania Clement, Misha Goel, Beca Perez, Aiden Yoon, and Yvi Vummiti. Benson was the leading scorer, who led the team throughout the game. Allied Basketball coach, Emma Degen, describes the team as a warm environment, where all students are encouraged to have fun, regardless of the final score. 

“My favorite moment was our first practice where we had a ton of athletes and kids who did a great job helping each other out and getting kids where they needed to be,” Degen said. “Seeing the mix of students who come together is really fun.”

Degen believes emphasizing team comradery is vital to developing a unified team that’s able to work and grow together. During practices, a primary emphasis for the student helpers is to try and get athletes comfortable and engaged, as they were during the game. Along with relationships, maintaining fun practices is one of the main ways the coaches keep both athletes and student partners engaged, which will allow them to be more competitive in upcoming regional games.  

“We have different buddies with different athletes to keep it fresh and fun,” Degen said. “I’m looking forward to our unified regional game in a couple of weeks where we have the opportunity to get ourselves to state.”