Unified Basketball is more than just a game, more than just a sport. 

It’s about building a community and a family.  

It’s about breaking down barriers and fostering unity. 

Unified Basketball Coach, John Anderson, has been in the district since 2006, working with special needs students 18-21 years old in the Gateway and Advanced Program. He has coached Unified Sports at PHS since 2009. 

Unified Basketball involves three athletes with a developmental disability and two Peer Partners, or Unified Partners with non-disabilities. They play against other teams in the community from around the South Puget Sound area.  

Anderson said that the goal of the sport is to unite and make the athletes feel incorporated into the world.  

“People that don’t have a disability put up borders when they see somebody, they don’t know anything about, they just kind of blindly judge,” Anderson said. “So, it’s very important that comes down.” 

Anderson says that Unified sports clears up the idea of a disability because, he says, you see athletes and peer partners working together.  

“You can sometimes see the physical disability; you may not see the brain part of it,” Anderson said. “When you see a person with a disability, a mental disability, you may not notice when they walk right by you.”  

 [Unified sports] builds unity in the school, because athletes or unified partners are kids that just want to be involved. Anderson says that the annual Pack the Gym event was created in 2011-2012, gathering students and athletes to support those playing. 

“It filled the gym like it was a regular boy basketball team and people from Special Services came and from the district office, our superintendents came, and they followed it; it’s a big deal,” Anderson said. 

Anderson’s main goal for his students is to succeed as athletes and for their future. Everyone gets treated the same and no differences are allowed. 

“Leave any disabilities or disbeliefs at the door when you come onto the field—whether it’s a soccer field or the basketball court—leave it all at the door because I’m going to treat you like it were anybody else and don’t say, ‘no, I can’t do that’ because I’m going to show you how you can do it,” Anderson said. 

Anderson started with Special Olympics in 1981 when he was taking care of a friend’s son who has Down syndrome.  

“We drove out to Fort Lewis, and watched some activities and he enjoyed it,” Anderson said. 

Anderson says that when he first came to Puyallup in 2006, he became the football coach until his predecessor, who worked in Special Education Department, introduced him to the department. 

“We don’t just do basketball; we have fall bowling, then the winter sport is basketball, and we have soccer as well,” Anderson said. “If you ever want to see how good we are, go into the gym and look at the banner, it shows every one of our State championships, from 2000, 2008 and forward.” 

Junior Sofia Wilson joined Unified basketball due to a friend’s encouragement, and says she values the community and support it offers outside the classroom. 

“[My friend] said that it was going to be really friendly and it was a good experience to go into,” Wilson said. 

Wilson says that the importance of Unified basketball is the teamwork and support within the community. 

“Unified basketball is important because it allows them to have a community outside of their classes that they take here, and they can experience support from the district and schools during Pack the Gym,” Wilson said. “It was really cool to see the support that the student section brought.” 

The team works really well together according to Wilson. 

“I think they’re all very supportive of each other and they help each other to stay on task and if someone’s lost, they’ll always be able to step up and help them out,” Wilson said.  

A memorable experience Wilson says was when they won their first game and she was able to lead some of her team. 

“It was really cool to see how they could work together on the court and be able to win,” Wilson said. 

Wilson says there isn’t any special treatment, that the athletes are treated like any other athlete.  

“You don’t really need to be soft with them; they’re pretty up to par. They know what’s going on and they’ll understand. They’re also really friendly and they’ll start conversations with you and make sure that you’re doing okay. So it’s really cool to play with them,” Wilson said.  

Wilson says she would encourage others to volunteer, with spring coming up, and Unified soccer starting soon. 

“We always need volunteers, so if you can and if you want to [even] if you’re just thinking about it and not sure, you should, because everyone’s really friendly and supportive, and they’ll definitely appreciate having you on the team,” Wilson said. 

Senior Cheyanne Thompson says that Unified has had an impact on her life. 

“I really like [and] enjoy it because it gives me something to do. I like to meet other people and make new friends,” Thompson said. 

Thompson says that her most enjoyable part about playing is being able to support a good team and her favorite moment she shares is receiving support and lessons from her coach. 

“When I was able to not play very well and then my coach taught me how to play basketball really well, so I’m very lucky to be on his team,” Thompson said. 

Thompson says she supports her teammates both off and on the court by being nice and supportive. 

“It just makes me feel happy and makes me feel good enough to do something,” Thompson said.