Northampton HS Unified basketball helping all students get ahead of the game

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — At a Unified Basketball practice in October, two Northampton High School students can’t wait to face off. The team is 2-0 already and will go on to be League Champs this season. But these two players, a senior and a freshman, aren’t anticipating their next win. Part of every practice is a team scrimmage, and one of the best parts of the game is getting to play their sister.

The siblings are paired for warm-up shots while the co-ed team is split into twos and threes under baskets in the gym. Sophie Ruff eagerly tells me about her idol. “This is my older sister,” she says. “She’s a senior here.”

Amelia Ruff stops bouncing the basketball and looks at Sophie.

“I’m a freshman,” Sophie continues.

Amelia looks impatiently at her younger sister. “So, are there any specific questions you want to ask us?” she says.

I ask what inspired them to join the team, and I’m not surprised by the answer.

“I heard about it through my sister,” says Sophie. “I had to come to her basketball games, and I hate being bored. I hate being on the sidelines.”

Amelia smiles. “And since it’s my last year here, she said she would play with me before I go.”

“Yeah, but I like it when we play against each other as well because I’m really a competitive person,” Sophie continues.

Despite their undeniable sibling rivalry, they both explain gently what might be perceived as the others’ challenges. Amelia says that Sophie has apraxia of speech, or difficulty physically forming words. Sophie says that Amelia is cortically blind, or has trouble visually processing objects. For Sophie, it might take time and patience to communicate with other teammates, while Amelia must learn to pass and defend without being able to see the ball or players clearly.

You can’t tell any of this on the court, and that’s the point: In Unified Basketball, all students are athletes simply because they want to be. When the team assembles for a game, players with and without intellectual disabilities, known as athletes and partners, are indistinguishable.

Unified Sports are part of an international program overseen by the Special Olympics to foster inclusivity. Currently there are 124 Unified Basketball teams in the state, and this year NHS faces four schools in western Massachusetts.

Veteran coaches Mike Gill and Jim McGrath have been with the team since its inception at NHS in 2018. (They also helm Unified Track in the spring.) “We’ve been doing this for 30 years and this is like our coaching into the sunset, so it’s a great way to go out,” says Gill.

Unified Basketball is scored and played competitively, but rather than on winning, the focus is on how the game is played. “We cheer for the other team and they cheer for us,” says Gill. “If somebody falls down, we help each other up.” This graciousness is contagious. Parents aren’t concerned about their kids’ playing time. Referees aren’t making controversial calls. Fans don’t take sides.

“The two main rules are to play hard and have fun,” says McGrath. “It’s great to see the kids put a lot of effort into it and see a lot of smiles on their faces.”

That said, Samuel Baker-Paquette doesn’t hesitate when he’s asked what he likes most about the game: “Um, winning!” Baker-Paquette and Jared Kubin are Transitions students who have been with the team for five years. Thirteen players make up this year’s roster.

Sophomore Alexis Michna says that Unified Basketball is “about making kids feel good about themselves.” Michna started playing basketball competitively when she was in kindergarten under her mom’s coaching, and in today’s practice she plays a patient point guard, guiding her team into formation before setting up a shot.

Ultimately, all sports should instill lasting confidence, says McGrath. “You go through failures and successes on an athletic team, and things aren’t going to be quite as devastating when you get into life.”

For Amelia Ruff, the unity she feels on the court is humbling and empowering. “It kind of gets us knowing that the world can be that way too if we can actually put aside our differences,” she says. “Because we’re just human, we’re not anything else. And we can still play sports no matter who we are.”

Now her sister is listening.

Unified Sports need support at NHS. For more information, visit www.northamptonschools.org.

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