Unified Sports is a sports team at Independence High School that allows students with disabilities to still enjoy playing the sports of their choice. It is led by Coach Jennifer Perry and according to her, Unified Sports is hosted “so the school can have a team that everyone can play on, not just people with disabilities or people without disabilities.”
Unified Sports was first introduced to Independence twenty years ago and has been around since. Perry took over the team in 2006 after the previous coach, Michelle Monaghan, went to coach Boys Volleyball and Girls Soccer. The team has other assistant coaches, such as Ms. Cruz, Mr. Escarcega, Ms. Wyatt, and Ms. Ibarra.
The team has around thirty members and every single one gets a chance to play. They play games such as badminton, bowling, bocce, soccer, basketball, floorball (which Perry says is like “floor hockey”), track n’ field, and cheerleading. However, Perry says those are just “for now” so there might be more or less games in the future. The team plays together during PE class and has competitions one to two times a month.
Out of the twenty years, the Independence Unified Sports team received one award in July 2022 and was announced during the 2022 Fall Assembly. It is named the “Unified Champions Schools Banner Recognition,” and it is a national award. “It was awarded to the school for being so inclusive and giving those with disabilities the opportunity to participate in sports with everyone else,” Perry said.
One member of the team, senior Sienna Nguyen, says she’s only participated her senior year but wishes she had joined sooner. She initially joined the team because she wanted to try something new, and she ended up loving it because of “the other students she gets to be around.” Nguyen was grateful everyone was welcoming to her as she was to them when she first joined the team.
Nguyen says she would recommend joining Unified Sports to other students because it will teach you about inclusivity, and also because Perry’s class is “so kind and welcoming.” Both Perry and Nguyen said that being a part of Unified Sports has taught them to be more patient. Perry said that it also “keeps her busy and it’s really fun.”
Another student, Senior Britanny Noriega, said she joined because one of her previous classmates talked about Unified Sports during class last year. She said their talk of the class “impacted her greatly” so she decided to join for her senior year. Noriega also wished that she had the opportunity to join earlier, as the students she works with are “the most affectionate people she’s ever met.” She loves the class because she is always able to laugh and smile when around them.
Noriega also believes that Unified Sports teaches others about equity and inclusivity and it’s an “important program to be involved in.” She highly encourages other students to participate, as it can impact their lives. Joining Unified Sports impacted Noriega’s life because she finally realized what she wanted to do in the future. She wants to start a research project on “the neurological biology of intellectual and physician disabilities.” After she graduates, she said she wanted to continue being a part of beautiful programs like this one.
In order to join Unified Sports, one must go through the process of joining Peer Tutoring through Ms. Perry and after signing up, the student will receive a form from their counselor and have it signed by Perry. After that, you can officially call yourself a peer tutor for Unified Sports and be able to participate in events and games!
