New Unified Basketball League for NYC Adults Quickly Builds Momentum in Brooklyn
Partnership with Volo Sports helps athletes with and without disabilities compete and socialize together
By Randy Robertson, NYC Regional Storyteller
Brooklyn, N.Y. – There’s an old urban gym in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with exposed brick walls, high ceilings and just enough room to squeeze in four basketball courts.
It’s the kind of place where every referee’s whistle and every vocal eruption after a great play echoes off the walls with tremendous energy. The gym is called The Post, and it’s a site for old-school New York City basketball, yet also the site for something very new.
For the past two weeks, dozens of coed adult athletes with and without disabilities have played basketball together in a new partnership between Special Olympics New York and Volo Sports. The Unified basketball league presents an opportunity for members of the community to come together to socialize and exercise with an inclusive spirit.
“I’ve done Volo before and I’ve done Unified before, and it’s so exciting to have them both together,” said Caroline Shriver, whose family helped found and run Special Olympics. “I know this has been in the works for a really long time, so I’m just thrilled to be here.”
Shriver wasn’t there as a ceremonial figurehead, although it does seem fitting that she’s a part of this exciting program at its inception. Shriver laced up her sneakers and hustled up and down the court alongside her teammates throughout the evening.
“It was so much fun!” Caroline exclaimed as she came off the court after a recent game. “I got to play with people who are way better than me, and I’m honored that they let me join their team for today. I was enjoying my time cheering on the sidelines and also jumping in when I could.”
Players, referees and league officials all seemed to share Shriver’s enthusiasm. Because the basketball courts take up almost the entire gym, there’s just a narrow strip of out-of-bounds space around the playing area. That means the dozens of players waiting to sub in or waiting for their games to start are right on top of the action. Such close proximity to one another encouraged a lot of interaction among everyone inside the building.
“Everybody is getting a chance to have fun,” said Roy Miller, an athlete who plays during the spring season for the Bronx Hornets. “It doesn’t matter if we win or lose because we’re all having fun.”
While having fun was a priority, the games were played with referees and scoreboards and were quite competitive. Some players were relative novices, while others such as Michael Ayers and Johnathan Oliver represented New York at the Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota this past June and took home gold medals. Most were somewhere in between, which allowed for good games where everyone had an opportunity to play. There were fast breaks and three-pointers, physical battles for rebounds and lots of good-natured yelling and hollering after big plays.
During time outs and breaks in between games, players from all teams were seen shaking hands, fist-bumping and chatting about anything and everything. There was a sense of camaraderie, regardless of what color uniform each person was wearing.
To see that kind of sportsmanship and friendship developing on a mid-week evening was exactly what organizers from Volo Sports and Special Olympics New York hoped for when they started building this new unified league.
“This partnership reflects what Volo is all about – creating welcoming communities through sports – and we’re excited to work alongside Special Olympics New York to make recreation more inclusive and accessible for everyone,” said Craig Heitczman, General Manager of Volo Sports, NYC Metro.
There are approximately 70 athletes and partners combined playing for six teams. The games will continue on Wednesday nights through October as the teams play a six-week season including playoffs on the final night. Based on the strong turnout among athletes and partners so far, it’s possible that Volo Sports and Special Olympics New York may look to expand this budding partnership to include additional sports throughout the year.
“It’s wonderful to see the season underway,” said Stacey Hengsterman, CEO of Special Olympics New York. “The new league is everything we hoped it would be. I’m excited to see how the rest of the season goes and how Volo Sports and Special Olympics New York can build upon this encouraging start.”
As he stood along the sideline Wednesday night, athlete Tyler Thomas was sweating, smiling and talking with a teammate. His team had just finished playing an early game and Tyler wasn’t ready to go home yet. He stuck around to watch the later games and to talk basketball with everyone around him.
“I had a lot of fun playing here,” Tyler said. “Coach told me to rebound, play hard and have a good time. This is my first time playing Unified Special Olympics and I’m really enjoying it.”
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