WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) — The Hardwood Court is giving some Goddard students a chance to showcase their skills and dispel misconceptions about people with disabilities. Eisenhower High School is one of the schools in the area that offers an Adaptive Basketball team for students.

EHS adaptive basketball coach Brian Watkins, said, “Game day, that’s all I hear all morning is we have a game today and they’re ready for the student section to come in and cheer for them.”

Game day comes with energy, grit and opportunity.

EHS adaptive basketball player Charles Mathews said, “It means I have to be one of the team, be number 44.”

“I’m in a happy place, and when I’m in happy places, I get very competitive,” said EHS adaptive basketball player Ava Noel.

This is the inaugural season of the EHS Tigers adaptive basketball team. On Friday, the team rounded out the season with a game against Wichita Chisholm High School.

Chandalyn Robinson’s son Caleb is No. 15 on the team.

“It allows our students to be who they want to be and who they know they are on the inside,” Robinson said.

He said it’s exciting to see the power this team has for the players.

Robinson said, “It boosted her self-esteem, the other kids did too. It boosted their self-esteem seeing the other kids excited to be here.”

It’s giving players like Mathews and Noel a chance to do something they love.

Mathews said, “Have fun with my friends, get along, follow directions, stay focused, do my best and be nice to each other.”

Team coach Brian Watkins said the goal is to make these students more intertwined and connected with their school.

“It’s really about inclusion. It brings our cognitively impaired students back to the normal world, I guess, because many times they are in their classroom most of the day. Watkins said, “They might get into a couple of gen-ed classes like choir or PE, cooking, but the unified really has the gen-ed and disabled students working together, which, most of the time, it just doesn’t happen, even in the classroom.”

Watkins said Eisenhower High offers more unified classes and sports like bowling, working towards that goal. Basketball, however, is giving more visibility to the whole school.

The schedule for these games allows them to be held during the school day, so classes are exempt and students fill the bleachers to cheer on the team along with the players’ families.

Noel said, “When one of them is your mother and your day, to me, it’s kind of scary. Yes, it makes me nervous, but it makes me a little competitive.

Because school sees them shine, it is also a space to overcome misconceptions.

“The biggest misconception, and it’s still a misconception, is with a cognitive disability, they don’t necessarily have a physical disability.” Watkins said, “I’m able to do a lot of things physically, it just takes that bit of patience to figure things out and giving them a chance is the number one thing that’s going to do a lot with these students.”

Watkins said this visibility is impacting his students, and that is building relationships.

“It really provides an opportunity for gen-ed students to really see what kids can do other than interact socially. Because many of our students have social disabilities. They get anxious when they talk, but in a small setting like this, being together and really becoming friends is the main thing,” she said. “We are seeing more interaction in the cafeteria, a huge place. Our basketball players, they scream his name, there’s a four or five high five. Those things just didn’t happen before. This is just the tip of the iceberg of where this could go.

Watkins is also seeing her students take on other opportunities in their classes or sports, including going out to be cheerleading, that they previously wouldn’t have.

Noel said, “It’s really fun, and sometimes you have to give something you think you’re not going to like a chance.”

It’s opportunities like this that Watkins would like to see for younger children.

“I work with students with disabilities of all ages, starting around the age of 4. So, to me, it’s no surprise what these students can do,” Watkins said. “I just think to myself, where would these students be if they had an opportunity at age 4, 5, 6? are there, but they don’t get invited by their friends to join their team, or their parents aren’t so quick to sign them in. I hope, with more viewers on stuff like this, it starts at an early age.

Watkins said he would like to see children with disabilities compete more in youth recreational sports or other opportunities.

Content Source