C R O W S S U P D R O E L Z Z BASKETBALL

see the gifts that our students have to o er,” she said.

For the athletes, the program o ers a powerful opportunity for authentic friendships.

“A lot of our students have a hard time with the social skills and all the necessary things that occur with a friendship,” Rooney said. “I just think (Uni ed Basketball) lends to more natural friendships occurring with the kids, because our athletes can be their true self and our partners just accept them for who they are.”

Arapahoe High School is working to become a Uni ed Champion School through Special Olympics Colorado.

Unifying further

With the middle school teams beginning, Rosazza had an idea to build a relationship between the Arapahoe team and younger teams.

“We’re just trying to nd a way to bring them together with some mentor athletes at Arapahoe in order to kind of teach (the middle school teams) how it works,” she said.

Rosazza pitched the idea to her group for a capstone project class, which juniors and seniors at Arapahoe can take. Her partners were all on board for the project, which they titled Joint Uni ed Mission to Play, or J.U.M.P. for short.

During the recent basketball season, which ended in early March, Rosazza and her group partners coordinated a practice for Arapahoe Uni ed athletes to lead at Newton Middle School.

“ ey’re just really good mentors towards the younger kids,” she said.

“We didn’t even have to coach -- they just led the drills and it was awesome… It gave the Arapahoe kids a leadership opportunity, while also still helping the younger kids.”

Rosazza said another bene t of the partnership between schools is getting to watch the students build relationships with each other. She said one Arapahoe Uni ed athlete got to reunite with some of his friends when he visited Newton to mentor them, and it’s heartwarming to see more relationships like that being created.

“I think this relationship will also make the transition from middle school to high school a lot easier for a lot of the kids because they’ll have some familiar faces,” she said.

Carley Fagler, one of Rosazza’s partners on the J.U.M.P. project, said Uni ed helps students with intellectual or developmental disabilities feel included.

“For me, it’s allowing all kids to feel equal and equally supported,” Fagler said. “I want them to feel like they’re a part of the community and they’re embraced and loved… To help the middle school kids incorporate that into their lives now, it’s just exciting to watch.”

Active Adult Healthy Living Expo

Take

Tuesday, April 4 9-11 am

Buck Recreation Center

2004 W. Powers Ave, Littleton, CO 80120

FREE admission and open to the public. No registration required.

Event sponsored by:

Answers