Unified sports are a new idea here at HBHS. For those who don’t know, a unified sport is a sport that combines unified athletes with mentors to assist them. Along with other varsity sports, it combines both athletics and comradery.

The team suffered a heartbreaking loss on Monday to Berlin after knocking off the number one seed, Londonderry, last Thursday. They put up a great fight, but couldn’t combat the tough defense of Berlin.

When asked if unified basketball is important to the HBHS athletic community,  Natalie Lewis ‘16 replied “Definitely. It’s important for everybody to think they are included in the athletic community.”

Lewis played unified basketball for the first time this year. When asked what advice she would give to students pondering the idea of playing unified basketball, Lewis replied, “Do it. It’s a great way to get involved and the welcoming environment makes for a very fun atmosphere”.

Holly Eisenberg ‘16 added “It’s wicked important for sure. This program allows students to interact with our students who have disabilities by teaching them the rules and skills of basketball.”

When asked to give advice to somebody wanting to join Unified basketball, Eisenberg added “I definitely advise you to join. You will seldom have an opportunity to be apart of something this unique.”

“I recommend anyone who might be interested in playing unified Basketball to definitely look into it,” said Peter Traver ‘16 when asked why one should play unified basketball. “It’s a great experience for both the athletes and partners. Even if you’re not great at basketball, you will have a great time playing and learning the game.”

It will be interesting to see how unified sports further change the athletic community in the coming years.