Congratulations to West Seattle High School’s Unified Basketball Team – #2 in the state!

Belated congratulations to the West Seattle High School Unified Basketball Team! While covering the WSHS girls’ state-tournament run last week, we learned that the Unified Team had already been to state and finished at #2. (If you haven’t heard of Unified Sports – explained here – it’s a Special Olympics-led program; teams include players with and without intellectual disabilities.) West Seattle Coach Billy Edwards shared the top photo from the team’s win at districts; he tells WSB, “The team was 11-0 and District champs going into the state tournament. The team was short handed going into the state tournament due to illness and travel. The team still fought hard and earned 2nd place in state.”

11 Replies to "Congratulations to West Seattle High School's Unified Basketball Team - #2 in the state!"

  • Jenny March 10, 2015 (6:03 am)

    Way to go West Seattle High!

  • Bonnie March 10, 2015 (11:22 am)

    Awesome! Congratulations!!

  • Bonnie March 10, 2015 (11:24 am)

    One more comment: Why isn’t the school promoting their special needs teams? This is awesome they are playing and doing so great! Why is the school promoting only the regular teams? As a parent of a special needs kid I think everybody should have known about this when it happened (like the Girls basketball team)

    • WSB March 10, 2015 (11:40 am)

      Bonnie – I think the onus is more on us media types. The school wasn’t really “promoting” the other teams – we generally have to take the initiative to chase down the information and it’s not easy (after this past season, I know way more about the Metro League website, the WIAA brackets, and other such things than I ever thought I’d have to) – NOT a criticism of the school employees, they are certainly cooperative once we explain our interest, but it’s just one more thing they have to do in addition to all their regular responsibilities (coaches often are also teachers, etc.) Not to mention the fundraising that is involved to cover costs of things like tournaments…
      .
      We have resolved to do our best NEXT year to get out ahead of the curve and find out about the Unified Teams so we can include them in our calendar listings, etc.
      .
      And one last note … our best sources are usually parents. If the schools don’t promote something, the parents often do, and we so appreciate all the info – whether it’s a quick mention of an event and then we pursue details, or a photo, or a report afterward … TR

  • Mr. Atomic March 10, 2015 (11:43 am)

    Congratulations!!!!!!
    Would have been a shame to not have known about this. Shame it couldn’t have gotten more coverage.

  • Curtis March 10, 2015 (2:02 pm)

    Honestly? I have a Special Needs Kid (Asperger’s – High Functioning Autism) who is a Junior at WSHS. Not that he would have been the slightest bit interested in playing, but I can’t say that I had ever heard about this team either. I think the school might be able to do a bit better in publicizing this. I’m glad the kids had a chance to play and that they did well. But did they ever get the Band and Cheerleaders to come to one of their games? And the district could help as well by scheduling these teams, at least once or twice, as part of the varsity double headers. Just a thought.

  • WSMom March 10, 2015 (4:03 pm)

    I am so proud of these kids!!!! They are such an amazing group of kids and an inspiration to all! Did you know that these kids and the coach usually held their basketball practices in a classroom rather than in a gym? From my understanding, the gym was always taken by the regular sports team and they made due with what they had. Just the same as why the Spec Ed classes have to have PE at Hiawatha rather than in their school gym.

    The school went all out for the girls basketball team going to state. The unified team got to join in in “their parade” but nothing to announce to the world or the community that the Special Olympic Unified Team took 2nd place in state! My child said it was briefly announced in the morning news to the school. I believe that is better than what the girls basketball team placed?!

    If a regular sports team at WSHS needs new uniforms, equipment or something, they hold golf tournaments, Mexican feasts to raise money. That’s not so easy to do with these kids. Soccer season is starting and the unified soccer team doesn’t even have uniforms and some of the families cannot afford shin guards and cleats BUT their amazing coaches will make sure that the kids that want to play are taken care of even if he has to pay out of his own pocket! Coach even takes them to the teen health clinic to make sure they are up to date on their physicals.

    I would not blame the WS Blog about not getting this out soon enough. It is the high schools responsibility to promote their team sports. They seem to have no problem promoting their regular sports. Why can’t they give the Special Olympic Unified teams the same recognition that the gen ed teams get?

  • petey March 10, 2015 (4:14 pm)

    thank you all you :) iam in the first row
    her right side looking down

  • NorDel March 10, 2015 (7:29 pm)

    Way to go, Pete!!
    Congrats!
    You all should be very proud!
    Go Wildcats!

  • Triedntrue March 11, 2015 (8:54 am)

    To the individuals upset with the amount of attention and talk about fundraisers etc that the “regular” high school sports is getting and so on, please take this into consideration: there is hardly any money left in funding high school sports buses to regular season games, let alone any for uniforms or equipment. Special Olympics has millions upon millions of dollars donated each year so that these special athletes can participate. Our professional philanthropists donate more to Special Olympics than to public schools. The laws have now changed so that public schools must provide Special Olympic teams with transportation etc. just like “regular” sports teams. There’s no money for that but the schools now have to find it. This means that “regular” sports teams must find money to get there teams the things they need. I believe all students deserve to participate in sports, yet these cuts to “regular” sports have impacted how students who aren’t on expensive travel teams get seen by potential colleges to play on a scholarship. Tunnel vision isn’t good in a situation like this.

  • WSmom March 11, 2015 (6:11 pm)

    Triedntrue- there is two separate issues in here. 1) the unified sports get very little if any acknowledgement within WSHS. They focus on the “regular” sports hence why no one knew about the Unified Basketball team placing 2nd in state until weeks AFTER the fact. 2) I’m pretty sure that Special Olympics don’t fund the sports in high school or these kids would have been driven in a chartered bus to Wenatchee, they could have rented a gym to practice in rather than in a classroom and dunking into garbage cans. The whole point is that the Special Ed kids do not get the recognition with their sports that the “regular” kids get!

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