HOULTON, Maine — In a volley keeping pace with the Chordettes’ “Sh Boom” blasting during pregame warmup, basketballs soared into hoops as others crisscrossed out of bounds on Friday at Houlton Middle High School.
On the court were unified basketball teams from Houlton Middle High School and Mattanawcook Academy. Play quickly heated up after the opening tip-off in a back-and-forth scoreboard volley, ending in a 36-to-31 win for the visiting team.
But playing on a unified team is about much more than technique or winning. It’s about inclusion, having fun together, meeting personal goals and engaging in meaningful involvement with peers, Houlton Shires Unified Basketball Team Coach Ellen Dyer said.
“I am incredibly proud of all of the players on this team,” Dyer said. “I am pleased with the progress of each individual, with how the team has come together as a whole, and with the development of this program in our district.”
The Maine Principals Association, which oversees high school athletics, and Special Olympics Maine co-promote unified sports, which have blossomed in recent years. Houlton was Aroostook County’s first unified team, and in 2023, Presque Isle launched its own unified basketball team.
Unified teams include athletes with intellectual disabilities, along with partners who are without disabilities. They play basketball together as a way to build friendships and improve social interaction. Adding to the fun, all the team’s players have chosen nicknames highlighting their personalities.
On Friday, the Houlton team gave it everything they had as Kaleb “Tazzy” York scored the game’s only 3-pointer and an overall 9 points in the game. Kaley “Zombie” Whitman carried the team, scoring 10 points. Zak “Sparky” Chaloux, Sandra “Dunkin’ Diva” Quinlan, Macy “Monster” Gilman, and Alex “Dance of Darkness” Santiago also contributed to the team’s final score of 31 points.
The Houlton Shires unified team launched in 2022, following unanimous approval from the RSU 29 school board.
Dyer, a special education teacher at Houlton Middle High School, has been coaching the team since its inception. The goal on and off the court is meaningful involvement, she said.
The team has 15 players: nine athletes and six partners.
“After every game, I ask if everyone felt included or like they were able to contribute meaningfully to each game,” Dyer said. “The answer is always an enthusiastic ‘yes’.”
First-year player Sandra “Dunkin’ Diva” Quinlan said she loves playing on the team, because she meets new people and has made friends she would have never met.
Being on the team has helped her gain more confidence when meeting new people, she said.
“I don’t think I would have met Hannah if I wasn’t on the team,” she said about partner “Hannah Banana” Kowalski.
A junior, Kowalski has been playing on the unified team for three years.
“I help to guide the athletes where to go and just try to make everybody happy,” she said. “I do it because it is so much fun and I like seeing all my teammates make baskets and I am so happy to see them happy.”
Kaley Whitman, a sophomore, has been playing for two years. When she started last year, she knew nothing about basketball. In Friday’s game, she was the team’s highest scorer.
This year she’s sharing what she has learned with others on her team, she said.
“We help the new people,” she said. “And it’s fun leadership.”
Most often new players do not know how to play the game. Dyer said in the beginning it’s more effective to create games and competitions out of drills to make practice more engaging for the new players, especially at the beginning of the season.
“I want them to want to come to practice, so there isn’t a lot of pressure to perform,” she said.
Once the season gets going, she switches to playing scrimmages with built-in drills so everyone can learn and practice specific skills and rules in real time.
“By the time we have our first game or two, players understand the basic flow of a game and can then start to fit in the other puzzle pieces like communicating, passing, dribbling and shooting,” she said. “We also talk a lot about expectations and goals which, I feel, helps build a positive mindset among the members of the team.”
Most players are meeting personal goals they’ve set for themselves, and Dyer said she has seen a lot of growth not just in individual skills but also in attitude, confidence, handling disappointment and corrections, teamwork, leadership, commitment and communication.
In Friday’s game, Jaylin “Nightmare” Santiago and Joshua “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Fox assisted with multiple inbounds and passes to their teammates, Dyer said.
“Faith “Tiger Lily” Schools, Hannah “Hannah Banana” Kowalski, Joey “Mr. Smiles” Woodie, Keegan “Keegers” Brown, Sarah “Lil Sis” Howe, and Shiloh “Shi Dawg” Richardson all assisted with game play and communication,” she added.
The team has one more game, Dyer said.
“It’s on Play Day. Multiple teams get together and play a round-robin of games against each other for one last hoorah for the season,” she said.