The pounding footsteps. The cheering crowd. 10 seconds left on the clock. Team Black player Ayden Moore (9) had the basketball, Feb. 4. His coach, Trevor Roland (11), nervously clasped his hands together, rapidly tapping his foot as he looked towards their team’s losing score: 16-14. As Moore cut through to the other side of the court, numerous players, cheerleaders and photographers followed close behind, captivated by this one last chance at victory. Moore took his shot; the crowd waited in anticipation, sharing a moment of uncertainty as the ball flew towards the net. Then, there’s a sudden burst of fervent noise, everyone swiveling to see the bright red numbers on the scoreboard.

16-16. 

“I had faith in [Aiden],” Roland said. “Of course, I was a little nervous, but I had faith he would make it. He was always there for practice and constantly putting up some shots. I had a feeling he would make it, but just watching it was crazy. I was jumping up and down on the sidelines.” 

From the special education students playing on the court, to the Golden Leaders coaches who trained them, to those applauding in the stands and sidelines, the Unity Basketball Game was an opportunity for connection. Roland, having been a coach for the past two years, said that it has been an all-around positive experience. 

“It’s one of my favorite [memories] of the year,” Roland said. “I had such an amazing time last year, and honestly it’s just super fun to be able to work with the [players]. There’s just this kind of thrill in helping them and kind of sharing my love for sports with them. It’s made a huge impact on me.”

According to Athletic Director Steve McLaughlin, the tradition started eight years ago because of a student named Peter. 

“I had a student in my class with special needs,” McLaughlin said. “You could tell Peter just loved sports, but at the same time, he was very cautious of putting himself out there or wanting to get involved. Next year, I got him to be a team manager for the boys volleyball team, but I said, we have to do something more for these students: How can we give them the power of athletics, but also create a special memory for them in a positive way on campus? And, we had started the Golden Leaders program that year. So, I came up with a basketball game [and] at some point, these worlds collided.” 

Having been an athlete all his life, Team White coach Pio Ryu (11) knows how empowering sports can be. He said he was excited to share this enthusiasm with his team.  

“I think it’s really important that all students are involved in sports,” Ryu said. “It’s a great experience, being able to be on a team and be supported [in competing]. It’s really great to spend some time with them and also share that appreciation for sports.”

Starting around a month before the game, the teams practiced every Wolverine Time. Ryu said a large part of this preparation was building trust with the students. 

“It’s just making sure you have a really strong connection with them and that they have strong bonds with each other,” Ryu said. “Of course, teaching them how to dribble or how to bring the ball up to the court is important, but they have to be able to understand each other and work as a team.” 

Ryu said he was proud of how the White team performed, especially in keeping the lead for the majority of the game. 

“I was confident that my team would perform well given all the hard work they did leading up to the game,” Ryu said. “I was really proud of how they brought the ball up the court, their ball movement, [and] how they passed the ball around. It allowed for more opportunities to score, which we saw especially in the first half.” 

For Golden Leader Kiana Lee (10), the Unity Basketball Game was especially important  because of her own membership with the disabled community, having severe hearing loss. 

“The unity portion specifically [is important to me],” Lee said. “I do a lot of disability advocacy and by having this inclusion game where we have both of our special education students and our [Golden Leaders] collaborate and learn from each other, really caught my attention; during the Unity Game basketball match, our Golden Leaders gained invaluable lessons from their special education group, especially about how to foster inclusion, empathy and teamwork.”

Lee was part of the behind-the-scenes group  that focused on outreach, working to promote the game through email templates and flyers sent out to a  diversity of audiences. 

“[For] people from the district office, [Westview students], younger kids, sports teams, teachers, and families that wish to come, it was a chance to connect with our special education students,” Lee said.  

This kind of behind-the-scenes work has contributed to the large, cheering crowd that is present for each Unity Basketball Game. According to McLaughlin, that is the most heartwarming part. 

“Our Westview community has been awesome,” McLaughlin said. “Every year, they’ve nearly packed that side of the gym [and it] has been phenomenal. The Golden Leaders have really done a good job of trying to bring people in for this event so the [players] can feel that excitement in the gymnasium.”

Special education teacher Meg Heidrick-Barnes agrees, noting that it’s important for students to recognize and support one another.

“It shows the best side of Westview in a lot of ways,”  Heidrick-Barnes said. “You can know what our community is about [by watching the Unity Basketball Game] and that we’re really accepting of and celebrating everyone.”

Overall, McLaughlin said the Unity Basketball Game is a beloved and beneficial tradition for Westview.

“There’s teachers [who say], ‘It’s one of my favorite, if not my favorite, days on campus,’” McLaughlin said. “I feel like this event is good for humanity. It’s good for our Golden Leaders, but also for the kids that are participating in it, and the people that are watching and celebrating it. Everyone has a unique role to create a great environment.”

For Ryu, the most special part of the game was how much fun his players had. 

“It was a bit of a downer having the Black team come back [and tie], but I’m still super happy about how my team performed,” Ryu said. “I’m especially happy with how much they were smiling all throughout the game. I just wanted to see them with big smiles on their faces.