LEWISTON — Connor Jewett is a high school athlete.

He practices. He works hard. He enjoys playing basketball. He loves being part of a team, part of a school — and part of something where he’s just one of the kids.

The Lewiston High School sophomore has experienced this as part of the school’s unified basketball team. Jewett, his teammates, and athletes with disabilities around Maine have been playing basketball this winter, blazing a new trail in the process.

Unified basketball is one of the sports developed by the Special Olympics Unified Sports program, pairing student-athletes with disabilities with players without disabilities — called partners — to form a team.

They practice and compete together with the partners, helping the other players learn and develop skills. Only two partners are allowed on the court at one time. There is no pressing, but most other standard rules apply.

“Right now, were at the player development level, where the partners have to assist and help the athletes do the scoring,” said Jody Benson, an assistant with the Lisbon team. Terri Tlumac is the head coach.

“It’s a 75 to 25 ratio,” Benson said.

Other levels include the “recreational level,” more of a fun league, and the “competitive level,” where there are tryouts and the scoring ratio is 50-50.

“This is supposed to be a combination of skill development and moving toward an understanding of the game of basketball,” said Benson, who’s also a teacher at Lisbon. Her husband, Jeff Benson, is the athletic director and a unified basketball assistant coach at Oxford Hills.

The season has been a success to date, and has reinvigorated in many athletes and coaches the spirit of high school sports. Kids who never had opportunity to play are loving the game and enjoying the chance to build confidence and friendships.

“It has been a fun experience,” Jewett said. “I like having these guys play with me and its fun playing with them.”

It can be a challenge for special education students to find a niche in the high school climate. Many are overlooked and left out of everyday life, especially in athletics.

The emergence of unified basketball has — at least in part — helped to change that. Kids with special needs are finding ways to fit in with the crowd, and being seen for who they are.

Transformation

Across the river, Tracy Paradis witnesses that. Her son Brandon, also a sophomore, plays for Edward Little High School of Auburn. She has seen  her son and his teammates grow, on and off the court. Players are gaining self-esteem and having fun in a positive environment. Players are seen for what they can do rather than judged for their disadvantages.

“That’s how they like to be seen,” Paradis said. “I’ve noticed that with the other kids. They want to show that they can do what the other kids can do. ‘I can do what you can do and have fun doing it.’”

Lewiston and Edward Little play a quarterfinal game Tuesday afternoon — tourney time for the first time as a Maine Principals’ Association-sanctioned sport.

“This has been one of the nicest programs that I think we’ve been involved in,” said Mike Burnham, an assistant executive director with the MPA. “There’s been a lot of enthusiasm and really positive feedback.”

The overwhelming support has come from players, coaches, administrators and fans that have all been part of the success story. It has been an uplifting experience to see kids play basketball for the love of the game and grow as a result.

“I’ve had kids say to me, ‘This is the first time I’ve ever had a uniform or I’ve never been cheered for,’” said Jeff Benson. “Those are things we take for granted. I can’t take those things for granted anymore. These things are more meaningful.”

The impact of the unified teams has gone well beyond players like Jewett and Paradis. It has had an amazing impact on the school communities as a whole and is changing the culture from the basketball court and beyond.

“There’s a bigger picture here,” Benson said. “The kids are getting a first-time and a lifetime opportunity to do something that will make them feel so much better about themselves and represent the school. It’s been a climate change in our school, no doubt.”

At Lewiston, players from the unified team are recognized in the hallways and greeted in the cafeteria. They’re being congratulated by other athletes and being given well wishes by classmates and teachers. They’re not being overlooked any longer.

“It’s like they’re accepted,” said Dick Martel, coach of Lewiston’s unified team. “They’re normal. They’re part of the school. I think more happens off the court than on the court, by far. The culture in the high school has changed dramatically.”

A new beginning

Unified basketball has been around in some form for six years, part of the Special Olympics Unified Sports program. A round robin tournament was organized each summer in Maine, and various teams from around the region participated.

Lewiston’s team was part of that tourney each year. The team would also add in games at halftime of varsity games, play faculty or find other opportunities to compete.

Hoping to establish some kind of season for these teams, Ian Frank, of Special Olympics Maine, and Jody Benson, who is also the area manager for Androscoggin County Special Olympics, approached the MPA about sanctioning the sport. Last fall, the organization’s leaders agreed, and the season began in January.

Unified basketball has been progressing significantly in other states. Connecticut has had a program for the past decade. Maine’s model is crafted after what Rhode Island and New Hampshire have done. Maine finished the season with 17 teams. A preliminary round of playoffs began Monday, with the quarterfinals scheduled for Tuesday.

In addition to Lewiston hosting Edward Little, Lisbon hosts Greely, Oak Hill plays at Hampden, Poland plays at Yarmouth, Oxford Hills plays at Bonny Eagle and Winthrop hosts the preliminary winner between Monday’s Messalonskee and Waterville tilt.  The semifinals are Thursday, followed by the regional finals next Tuesday. The state championship will be held at Lewiston on Thursday, March 19.

“It’s exciting to see the 17 teams maintaining,” Jody Benson said. “It’s very challenging for ADs to find extra practice time and partners have other commitments, some are working or involved in other athletic programs. To fit that all in and to finish it all with 17 teams, I think that’s just wonderful.”

One of the concerns the MPA had was increasing the burden on already busy athletic administrators. But three programs have ADs helping with the coaching — Jeff Benson at Oxford Hills, Paul Vachon at Cony and Tom Hill as Messalsonkee.

Benson has coached at the college, varsity, and legion baseball level, but says that this experience has re-energized his love of teaching and coaching athletes.

“The fire in the belly came back,” he said. “You want to see them succeed. You want them to do well. You just give them every opportunity that you can.

“This is the purest form of sports right now. They’re training for the purest form — enjoying the competition.”

Martel agreed. He’s been involved in coaching a variety of sports at different levels, but nothing, he said, compares to coaching these kids and watching them succeed.

“It’s the best coaching job I’ve ever had,” Martel said.

Getting in the game

Though Jewett had been around the athletic programs since he started attending Lewiston High School, the unified team offered him his first real chance to play. He tried out for the varsity basketball team but didn’t make the cut. He asked Coach Tim Farrar for a list of things on which he could improve, and he’s been focused on them ever since.

“I was excited,” Jewett said about the unified team. “I want to help out the other players and see what they can improve on and see what I can improve on too.”

Jewett was a soccer manager last year and then joined the lacrosse and football programs. He was diligent at practice and built his confidence. He had played basketball with the unified team and recreational programs in the past. Though he didn’t make the varsity program, he’s helping the Blue Devils unified team to a solid season.

“I think it helps me a lot,” said Jewett, who admits he likes passing the ball and setting up other players as much as he does scoring himself. “I don’t have to get the ball all the time. I can help my teammates get the ball. It will help me learn what I need to do on defense and on offense.”

Paradis had never played basketball. He had been part of the Edward Little swim team. When he and his family saw information about the unified team, it seemed like a great opportunity.

“He wanted to do it,” Paradis said. “We were like, ‘That’s pretty cool.’ All the other special-ed kids were doing it.”

Her son not only had a great time being able to play the game and build friendships on the team, it was a great experience for family members as well.

“It’s been wonderful,” Paradis said. “I really enjoy watching it. It’s amazing. I love watching him play and having some fun and watching him get some baskets and smile.”

At games, the crowd oozes positivity. There is no student-section taunting, nor overbearing parents. There are no issues about playing time. Expectations are to play, compete, have fun and learn. Teachers, classmates, fellow athletes and family watch and cheer the players. Some schools have developed unified cheering squads that rally the crowds at games.

“The energy is amazing for the kids and the parents and the boys that work with them on the court,” Paradis said. “There’s so much energy from everybody. They enjoy themselves and the energy from everyone is amazing. The kids enjoy it. The parents enjoy it. The coaches enjoy it. It’s just wonderful.”

Helping hands

Lewiston senior Nathan Cook started helping out as a volunteer in the weight room and got to know some of the special needs kids at his school. When the unified team was established, he was a natural to join as a partner.

“It’s just about getting the competitive kids that can play playing and getting the younger kids some experience,” Cook said. “Then they can play at a higher level like some of the other kids. It’s been awesome. Some of these kids I’ve been around for two or three years. To see where they began and see where they are, it’s two different levels.”

The unified program wouldn’t be a success without the partners. Students without disabilities are recruited to help with the special needs players. Their job is to help teammates make plays. It’s a commitment of time for the partners, who also have to dedicate themselves to helping the other players grown and learn.

“They’ve really become great leaders,” said Jeff Benson, who assists Jennifer Dionne at Oxford Hills. “The confidence that is has given our athletes is even more so. We’ve seen these kids develop and blossom and talk and communicate. If you want a true sense of what a team is, that’s our unified team. They don’t care who scores as long as somebody scores.”

Benson said he added up the numbers recently and saw that 95 percent of his team’s scoring had come from the athletes while five percent had been scored by the partners.

Lewiston’s partners include soccer players Abdi Shariff and Ibrahim Hussein, both of whom won a regional soccer championship with the Blue Devils last fall. Lisbon’s team has starting football quarterback Tyler Halls, along with Ryley Austin, Nathan Havlicek, Devin Libby and Tanton Mattson. When Jody Benson needed a female partner for her team, she recruited Molly Nicholson, a softball and field hockey player.

“It’s not all about finding that top (basketball player) partner,” said Jody Benson, who said she has some players that have more basketball experience than their partners. “I didn’t have a girl partner. Most of my partners are male. So I had to go and look. (Nicholson) is not a basketball player but she’s been wonderful. She’s given that support. She’s gone out to lunch with her. She’s invited her to the movies with her friends. That’s gotten her out of her shell.”

Martell said he has about 100 kids that are involved as volunteers in various programs at Lewiston. Many are part of an accredited physical education program. One aspect of the course was an essay the student-athletes had to write about the experience. The feedback was often the same: The partners realized that the kids they worked with were not so different from themselves.

“It’s unbelievable how the kids have turned the other cheek,” Martel said. “Years ago, they didn’t bother with the students. Now they’ve gotten to meet them, they realize that they’re just like us. That’s the No. 1 theme from those essays. These kids aren’t much different from us. They laugh. They cry. They’re happy. They’re sad. They just have some disadvantages.”

For the partners, it’s not only a great learning experience but also a rewarding one.

“For a lot of them, it’s a big stage,” said Cook, who played on the soccer team and competes in indoor and outdoor track and field. “It’s like a state championship game every game. Some of these kids that are low functioning, they make a basket and they throw their hands up in the air like they won the World Series. Even for the higher functioning kids, every basket they make, it’s like they’re making them in an NBA game. It means a lot to them. It’s like how any varsity games mean to any athlete.”

Tourney time

With this week’s playoffs, the competitive and fun environment that has been unified basketball could see a change — a concern for some. Whether the focus on winning and championships get in the way of the ultimate goal remains to be seen.

“There may be more at stake, but we’re not going to change anything,” Jeff Benson said. “We’re going to do our regular rotation that we normally do with players. The playoffs will just become an addendum to the instructional piece that we’ve been doing.”

Teams hope to have cheerleaders, fans and maybe even bands appearing at this week’s playoff games. Having Lewiston drawing Edward Little in the first round only added to the hype.

“It’s pretty exciting going to the playoffs,” Jewett said. “It’s the first time we’re going to the playoffs.”

The tournament will also allow for a complete review of the inaugural season, helping to serve as a foundation for what future unified basketball teams might do, but also what other sports might follow as other unified programs evolve.

“Having the committee and the input from all the coaches and ADs at the end of the season will help bring to light where we need to be,” Jody Benson said. “Being the first season, we’re going to run across some things, but so far, the positives far outweigh the challenges.”

Burnham said the MPA will review the season after the state championship and examine what worked and what didn’t, and determine what modifications need to be made, if any. The consensus so far appears to be positive feedback.

“If you talk to 17 different coaches, it would be one story right after the other,” Burnham said. “Keith Morin, the principal at Winthrop, he said the biggest impact at their school was in the culture. He said it wasn’t anything about basketball. It was about the kids fitting in.”

Burnham has heard from parents, coaches and administrators all season long, extolling the positive energy the program has created.

“To see the reaction, particularly from the new teams and their parents, has been incredible,” Burnham said. “There’s been great appreciation. I was at game where a mom cried the whole game. She came down after and said, ‘This is the greatest thing that’s happened to my daughter.’ That sums up what this is about.”

kmills@sunjournal.com

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