By Cassandra Soda – News Editor

The Jonathan Law Unified Sports team is ready and excited to jump into the new school year.

Unified Sports is a program where special education students work with regular education students and play sports in a fun environment.

“I love coaching because I enjoy watching the athletes skills increase and them making new friends with the partners,” Unified Sports coach Mrs. Daniels said. “I also enjoy going to tournaments and meeting members of other teams.”

The team plays soccer, wiffle ball, basketball, bowling, and track. There are three tournaments for soccer, two tournaments for volleyball, and one tournament for bowling and track, and Law hosts a wiffle ball and basketball tournament.

The athletes enjoy all the sports they play.

“My favorite part about Unified Sports is when we do drills and kick the ball into the wall,” freshman Anthony Correia said.

Many students at Law volunteer for the club and attend the practices and tournaments with the athletes.

“What I like the most is they are always eager and excited to practice and try new things,” senior Ciara Boyd said. “They are such a happy and motivated group and it is so much fun working with them.”

The students who volunteer love to help and see the kids having fun.

“I like seeing the excitement the kids get when they are able to do a certain skill,” senior Jennifer Contreras said.

Seeing the kids work hard is very motivational and exciting to the partners who all love what they do in working with the kids.

“I like how every kid makes an effort to overcome challenges that they face regularly,” Contreras said.

The athletes work hard at every practice to try and improve their skills while also having fun.

“My favorite part is helping the athletes play these sports to the best of their ability while also creating a bond with them,” Boyd said.

The team participates in a Youth Leadership Summit in December where partners from other districts in Connecticut meet and attend break-out sessions to talk about leadership.

The team in the past has won the Michael’s Cup award and hope to win it again this year or in the future.

The team practices on Mondays and Thursdays from 2:00-3:00 in the old gym from September to June. The kids and partners are all looking forward to having a fun, enjoyable, and successful year.