MIDLAND, Texas — "Sports is a natural thing that brings people together and lets you know that you have more in common than differences," said Robert Willard, Midland ISD Unified Coordinator.
One of the most popular sports is the game of basketball.
"It actually means everything to me," said Anastasia Rosales, a 7th grader at Goddard Junior High School. "Like I'm in love with it. [...] It pretty much makes me feel myself."
Basketball is a team sport.
A team sport that brings people together.
It’s a game that requires good team chemistry to succeed.
And the Midland ISD Unified Basketball Championship at Goddard Junior High allows everyone to gain that chemistry with each other.
Even those who felt like they might not have the chance to.
"It allows special needs students to play alongside general education students and to grow a sense of belonging to the school community," Willard said.
It allows them to get out of their comfort zone and play a true team building game with the other students.
"We've had a couple that it took some convincing for them to join our team because they thought 'oh, I'm not good at basketball, I'm not this, I'm not that,'" Rachel Gardea, Goddard Junior High School Life Skills teacher and coach said. "But once they made that first shot, that first glow in their eyes. That was pretty awesome."
And even though these kids have differences, this inclusion on the team allows them to bond with the other kids when before they might not have gotten the chance.
"They're no longer separated," Executive Director of West Region Special Olympics J'Nette Thorne said. "They're no longer excluded. "
And that chemistry now goes beyond just the 94-feet of the basketball court.
"Now, you see them in the halls talking to each other," Thorne said. "They are talking about their weekend, they're talking about what they're doing. And they're inviting each other to their events. They are enjoying each other's company whereas before they wouldn't be invited."
And it's being noticed by their teachers as well.
"They're walking down the hall, and they get recognized by name and high fives," Gardea said. "And whereas before, you know, we [the life skills class] are stuck in our own little world."
"Yeah, it's not like oh, you don't want to go in there, room 212," the other Life Skills teacher Peggy Livingston agreed. "Now it's like, 'hey, let's go say hi to the kids.' And they love the gen[eral] ed[ucation] kids and the gen ed kids love them right back."
And the love is obvious.
"I love their attitude towards the game," Goddard 8th Grader Xavier Muro said. "I love the way they love the game. I love the way they play the game. You know, they just don't do it. They don't do it to try hard. They do it because they want that chance that other basketball players get. Like Andres, #12, like he has a disability but I mean he's, he's crazy good at basketball like you know he loves the game. [...] all of them they're all good. They love this game."
It allows these kids who love the game show the packed crowd how much they love it.
And if these teams showed us one thing, it’s that that love was left on the hardwood.
Abell Junior High School ultimately beat out both San Jacinto and Goddard Junior High Schools to win the coveted championship.
But even though there was only one winner, all three teams who participated in the tournament can truly be seen as winners.
Because at the end of the day, it’s the bonds and relationships these kids made as well as the confidence they gained during the time they were on the court that truly makes them champions.
"And so now you're seeing that they are being included," Thorne said. "Which I think the program is not really a program, it's a life changing event."