Better Together: Unified Sports Program Builds Bonds At Area High Schools

At Broadneck and Severna Park high schools, the Unified Sports program gives students a chance to compete, cheer on their teammates and represent their schools. But ask the coaches what makes the program special, and wins and losses are just a small part of the answer.

The friendships, confidence and sense of belonging students find along the way are just as important.

Unified Sports bring together athletes with disabilities and partners without disabilities to train and compete as teammates. At Broadneck High School, Jennifer Peacock coaches Unified tennis and bocce and serves as an assistant coach for Allied Bowling. At Severna Park High School, Nadine Hendler coaches the school’s Unified programs and teaches Unified physical education.

Both have spent more than a decade combined watching students form connections that often extend well beyond practices and competitions.

“I love watching the friendships that they make together,” Hendler said. “I think one of my favorite parts of Unified is seeing the kids realize all the qualities that each other has.”

Many athletes and partners might not otherwise cross paths during the school day, she said. But once they become teammates, those differences begin to matter less.

“They get to see that people are good at other things and that they have a lot more in common than they think they do,” Hendler said. “A lot of them make great friendships off the court, which is probably the most important part of the program.”

A Place to Belong

Peacock’s introduction to Unified Sports came through her daughter. She began working at Broadneck in 2018 as a one-on-one teaching assistant for a student with cerebral palsy. That student convinced Peacock’s daughter, then a freshman, to try Allied bowling. Soon, Peacock was attending practices herself and eventually was asked to help coach Unified bocce.

“Both my kids are now in college, and I’m still in high school,” she joked.

Peacock said some of the students who benefit most from Unified are not necessarily the ones people might expect. Some join looking for an activity. Others might struggle to find their place at school.

But then, something clicks.

“Whether it’s (that) they find some friends or they find a community, high school is so, so big, and there’s so much going on,” Peacock said.

For a student who otherwise feels disconnected from school, being part of a team can provide an important reason to show up.

“Sometimes giving them that reason is enough to make them say, ‘OK, well, I’ve got to go to school because I’ve got practice,’ or ‘I’ve got the team,’ or ‘They’re depending on me,’” Peacock said.

Broadneck and Severna Park’s programs include Alternate Curriculum Class (ACC) students as athletes alongside student partners. In Unified tennis, athletes and partners compete together in doubles pairs and are matched according to ability so everyone can participate meaningfully. Unified bocce similarly brings athletes and partners together on teams, with competition organized according to skill level.

Allied Bowling differs slightly from the Special Olympics-sanctioned Unified format because bowling is not a doubles-type sport, but locally, it serves a similar mission of bringing students together through athletics.

Jacob Totah, a junior Unified athlete at Broadneck, said he most enjoys the game itself and has had fun learning the rules of the game.

“I enjoy hanging out with friends that I’ve made and playing the sports. I learned that everyone should be included no matter what,” said Connor Murphy, a sophomore Unified partner.

More Than a Competition

At Severna Park High School, Hendler sees relationships develop on the court and continue throughout the school and community.

Students attend their teammates’ other sporting events. Some participate in Best Buddies together or spend time with one another outside of school. Unified athletes are also part of the broader Falcons community, including one student Hendler said has helped with the school’s basketball and football teams.

Hendler works to make the Unified experience feel like any other varsity sports experience. There are team dinners, photos and traditions. Instead of the “sister bags” sometimes exchanged by girls’ teams, Hendler’s players make “buddy bags.”

“It’s a varsity sport,” Hendler said. “Having people recognize that it’s just as important as any other sport - and not just for being competitive, but for the team bonding.”

That community stretches across school boundaries, too.

Hendler and Peacock collaborate on events between Severna Park and Broadneck. Severna Park has also hosted Unified dances, initially inviting Broadneck and Crofton students before expanding the event to additional schools.

For Peacock, that camaraderie is evident in the way Unified teammates continue supporting each other even when they are playing different sports. Bocce players might turn up at a teammate’s field hockey game in the fall, for example, or support a tennis teammate playing lacrosse in the spring.

“They’re all really nice to each other, which you don’t always see,” Peacock said. “Everybody’s there to help each other.”

Making Memories

Both coaches are excited to welcome new students this year.

Broadneck has a number of new tennis players, including students who previously participated in soccer, lacrosse and field hockey. Peacock said her goal is to create a strong team atmosphere while continuing service projects that encourage students to help others in their community.

At Severna Park, Hendler is also welcoming new athletes after graduating a large group of seniors last year. She is looking forward to watching another round of friendships take shape.

Ultimately, she said, the moments that stay with her aren't necessarily championships or scores.

“I just think it’s the little things that you get to look back on when everything is said and done,” Hendler said.

It might be watching teammates celebrate a personal best, seeing how proud they are of one another or simply watching a friendship develop between two students who might never have met otherwise.

“I think it’s just about the memories that you make,” Hendler said.

And on Unified teams, every student gets an opportunity to contribute to those memories.

“I feel like everybody’s more equal on a bocce court, on a tennis team, because you’re one big team, helping each other out, cheering each other on, making each other better,” she said.

To learn more about the Unified Sports Program in Anne Arundel County Public Schools, visit www.aacps.org.