High school basketball players with and without intellectual disabilities teamed up inside Target Center on Thursday, for an incredible — and incredibly competitive — state tournament.
Special Olympics Minnesota hosted the 2024 Unified State Basketball Tourney, which brought together teams from Bemidji, Eagan, Lakeville South, Menahga, Champlin Park, Proctor, and Roosevelt High Schools to play for state crowns in two different divisions. Division A games are more competitive and took place in the morning. Division B games were played in the afternoon and focus more on player development.
"It's pretty unreal just to be playing in the same place that the Timberwolves play," said Connor King, who decided to join his twin sister, Bria King, on Eagan's Division A Unified team a couple years ago.
"This is a dream come true," said Bria, who lives with intellectual disabilities. "I got involved with Unified because when I came to school I didn't really like it, and I was still trying to get to know everybody, and then when my twin brother went to a tournament when I was a freshman, he saw how much fun it was and it made me happy, it made me shine, and he wanted to be a part of it and spend time with me."
Thanks to the Unified program, they don't just get to spend time together on the court, many of the Eagan High School fans in attendance to watch the state championship game on Thursday, are also involved with Unified programs that span classes and extracurricular activities.
"I love how inclusive it is," said Madix Fulton, a student who helps with the Unified program at Eagan High School. "There's a Unified club, which I'm a part of, and I took a Unified Gym Class."
According to Special Olympics of Minnesota, the popularity of Unified programs isn't just growing within schools. Just five years ago there were roughly 100 Minnesota Schools with Unified programs. This year there are 300 schools ranging from elementary schools to colleges.
"Unified Sports joins people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team. It was inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding," reads a statement on the Special Olympics website. "Teams are made up of people of similar age and ability. That makes practices more fun and games more challenging and exciting for all."
And that also holds true for the coaching staff, which is also student led.
"Those kids aren't any different than me and all the other peers that would get to play in Target Center for any other high school team," said Carter Will, head coach of the Unified basketball team. "This program is amazing. It was life-changing. I'm majoring in special education with hopes to come back to Eagan High School in four years and become a student teacher and eventually become a full time teacher at Eagan High School, and coach football as well."
It changed Bria and Connor's lives, too.
"We weren't super close, we didn't have the best relationship and now, Unified has brought us together so much and we're just, as close as we've ever been," Connor said.
"We love playing sports together, that's something we have in common," Bria said.
As of Thursday, they also have one more thing in common: They won another state championship together.
"The first year, not really many people came, and this year we had 450 people come from our school to come support us and it just means so much to us," Bria said. "It feels amazing, like, I almost want to pinch myself, is this a dream?"
If you're interested in bringing a Unified program at your school, click here.
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