Montgomery County Special Olympics held its eighth yearly show of unified (联合的)basketball at Blessed Sacrament School. The gym was filled with cheerleaders (啦啦队队员), parents and friends. The walls were covered with posters made by thirdandfourthgraders at the school. And all the elementary, middle and high school unified teams were playing hard and having fun. Every basket, no matter which team scores, is cheered and celebrated.
Special Olympics support more than 20 unified games. What are unified games? They are programs designed for players with special needs. In the games, they play with kids who are volunteers, called unified partners. The special athletes are unable to play normally like other healthy kids, and some of them are wheelchair (轮椅) users. In basketball, the unified partners rebound (抢得篮板球), pass and sometimes push a special athlete's wheelchair. As Brian Ross, a seventhgrader at St. Albans School in Washington, says, "You just try to help and get everyone to take part."
Some special athletes have come a long way to be where they are. Caleb Head is a 15yearold special athlete. When he started, Caleb would only stand at the door and watch. Then Caleb began to practice his shooting but still would not play in the games. Now Caleb runs up and down looking for his shot.
The special athletes are not the only ones who benefit (受益) from unified sports; the unified partners do, too. Marla Grusin, whose son Tyler is a special athlete, says every kid should come to a Special Olympics game. If they do, they will learn "to share the ball" and that the game "is not all about me".
Not a bad lesson for any athlete.
