The energy level in the gym was high, and spectators, coaches, and teammates were up smiling and cheering. The annual Special Olympics basketball game, held on Mar. 13, was a huge success. The boys’ basketball team has hosted a game in collaboration with the Unified Schools program and Western Wings for the past few years, but, this year, they decided to open the game up to anyone within the community, including both Middle School and Upper School students.
There were a variety of players of all ages who showed up to play in the game. Darian Mehra ‘23, one of the leaders of the Unified Committee, thought that the event went amazing. Mehra, a big contributor to the planning of this basketball game, says that the turnout was great “not only from the basketball team, but also volunteers… we had more volunteers than basketball athletes.”
After the game, varsity boys’ basketball captain Ian Schnabel ‘25 said that, “[He] really enjoyed it, [and] it was a fun environment to be a part of. [It was] something that I started doing as a freshman, and as a leader [of the] basketball program, [it’s] always just a fun thing to do every year.”
His teammate, Carson McMichael ‘26, said that “It was very fun… the game was just great energy and great vibes all around.”
Lisa Sackreiter, Director of Service Learning and Community Engagement, describes that “after the game [the players] go down and have some pizza,” a time to socialize and build community with Western Wings players.
Director of Global Programs Dion Crushshon ‘88 and Physics teacher Steve Kaback coached the game. Kaback said that “this was an incredible collection of players. I loved the Western Wings players, [and] they came in with a lot of talent, and I thought that the Blake participants did exactly the right thing. They were aggressive, they hustled, and got the ball and got rebounds, so it was really fun.” Kaback also says that he would “be happy to participate in this game again,” and that it was “a great way to bring our two communities together.”
