Somers High School Launches Unified Sports Program

This basketball season, there was another team on the court for Somers High School.

A Unified Sports team has been created in town and it got its first taste of the action this year.

Sheri Yarrows, the Somers High School Transition Coordinator, heads up the program and the team is coached by art teacher and freshman boys basketball coach Kyle Kipfer.

Yarrows said that there were 17 students on the team - nine special education and eight “buddies.” She said that during a game, five students are on the floor and that three are special education. These students possess the ball most of the time, with the buddies there to help them out and move the game along.

The team travels around and plays other schools in the area - including Ellington, Stafford, and Tolland - that have Unified Sports teams.

According to Yarrows, Unified Sports teams are blossoming in the state and she applied for - and received - a $2,000 grant from the Connecticut Association of Schools and their branch of the Special Olympics. She said that this money covered the team banner, jerseys, the salary for the coach, and the transportation costs.

Yarrows wanted to bring the program to Somers to give the special education students more opportunities for participation, and also to create more of an awareness of differences and more of a social consciousness.

Kipfer, who has many special education students in his classroom, said he thought this program would help with that, but also that the school has a great environment as it is, so it would be a perfect program to try and implement.

Both Yarrows and Kipfer said that they can see the support in the school and there has been a large interest in the program. During the pep rally - which the whole school attended - the team played a short game and that really raised the awareness and interest levels.

Yarrows said that the feedback has been very positive and that there have been many positives to come from it - including exposing the buddies to different kinds of students and possible career paths. She said that it also allows the parents of the students to come out and see their children having fun, doing well, and playing with others.

In addition to having fun, Kipfer says that playing as a team and sportsmanship are very important. Yarrows had much praise for him as a coach.

“Kyle is just a wonderful coach,” Yarrows said. “We couldn’t ask for a better coach than Kyle. He just has a really easy going personality. I think [he has] fun with it. He has a really good balance between keeping it fun, the expectations, and keeping it going.”