Students with special needs have many options to get involved in sports around campus. Unified Cheer is one of those options and this year has four special needs participants, alongside four athlete partners.
Unified Cheer, like other Unified sports, has to be able to cater to each of their participants needs. Jaimee Lujan, a coach for the Unified Cheer program, said, “we always want everybody to participate, everybody to have fun, and everybody to feel included.” Coaches for the program do their best to accommodate all the needs of members of the program, which can be difficult having two participants in wheelchairs. To do this, practices are held Monday and Wednesday, indoors to make the students more comfortable. During games, which tend to fall on Thursdays, students are regularly provided with water, and can take breaks if they ever need to.
Student athletes are a large part of running Unified Cheer. Junior Sophia Zebian says “we take part in helping them learn the cheers and start the cheers at the games, we lead it in a way.” These students are vital in creating an environment suited for participants, and their leadership in practice and at games allow the participants to get truly involved and have a good time on the field. The students are very supportive of each participant, and during the games even allow members to lead some of their favorite cheers. During practices they allow participants to be active in helping make the cheer as well. J. Lujan even said that while they were recently coming up with a new dance for their final game, “everybody participated and made up moves.”
Junior Trinity Lujan, a member of Unified cheer alongside many other Unified sports teams, says that this environment is her favorite part of the cheer program. “It’s really fun at practices especially…” she says “…you can just be yourself.” Being able to be yourself at these practices is important to the inclusion of everybody. J. Lujan says that “the whole point of unified is inclusion” and that despite their best efforts “it’s not always going to work out the way [we] plan” Working with the participants can be difficult for students and coaches at times due to each participants’ specific set of needs. At times the participants’ moods can change quickly, and the helpers have to adjust similarly, helping to improve the time spent by the participants.
Lujan says “working with children with special needs comes with lots of challenges, but they are the most amazing people and they are so much fun to work with.” Unified Cheer comes with a large commitment of time and energy, but for the coaches and students involved the unique kids involved make it worth the while.
