Special Needs Students Are All Winners in Basketball Tourney

By MADDY VITALE The finale to the Unified Sports basketball season did not disappoint Thursday, as special education students from Ocean City and Cedar Creek High Schools joined forces to battle it out against Egg Harbor Township. All eyes were on the court at the Ocean City High School gym, as student athletes dribbled, passed the ball and made some shots on both sides — keeping spectators on high alert, especially when a few baskets bounced on the rim before going in. Before the start of the game, the players warmed up. Ocean City athletes Osver Oropeza and Christopher Fuentes shared how they felt about the game. “Excited!” Osver said. “Yes, I’m excited,” Christopher followed up. The teams are made up of special education high school students from the Life Skills and Work Based Learning classes. Unified sports allow students with and without intellectual disabilities the opportunity to play on the same team.

This is the first year that Ocean City’s students have officially joined the other schools that participate in the Unified Sports program. Interim Schools Superintendent Terrence Crowley watched the students and said a few words about what it means for the district to have a Unified Sports team. “This kind of thing is what we should have been doing all along and I’m glad that we are doing it now. It’s good for the kids,” Crowley said, noting that it is rewarding for the student athletes. The Ocean City Unified Sports basketball team participated in the first game of the season on Jan. 25 at Mainland Regional High School. Jessica DeBiaso, an Ocean City High School (OCHS) special education teacher and coordinator of the W.A.V.E.S. program, said the students really have enjoyed the season. “We are excited about making it to the finals and for all the support of our staff and community for coming out for our final game today,” DeBiaso said.

Along with Egg Harbor Township, Cedar Creek and Mainland Regional high schools, the district competed with other unified teams, including the Cape May County Special Services/Cape May Technical High School. Cape May County Commissioner Bob Barr attended the finale and called the Unified Sports program “wonderful” for the district and the community. ‘It’s great to get the regular student population involved with the special needs kids and it gives them a taste of something that they otherwise wouldn’t be exposed to and it erases some of those stereotypes,” Barr said. “It is everything that is good and my understanding is we are going to see it grow and I am very excited about that.” In addition to the athletes, “buddies” were also on hand Thursday to watch, support and cheer on the student athletes. Varsity basketball players serving as buddies from the different schools, including the Red Raiders girls basketball team, were in the bleachers holding up signs to cheer on Cedar Creek and Ocean City athletes. There was also a cheer squad from Ocean City High School shaking pom-poms and holding signs of support. On one side of the gym were the Ocean City and Cedar Creek family and friends and on the other side was a solid showing of support for the Egg Harbor Township student athletes. Egg Harbor Township parent Walt Loges watched as his son, Hunter, 18, played in his second Unified Sports game. “He’s been to a couple of practices and one game. He likes it a lot,” Loges said of his son. “I have five kids and go to all their sports events. This game won’t disappoint.”

Established in 1989, Unified Sports is a Special Olympics program designed to give students with and without intellectual disabilities the opportunity to play on the same team, while promoting social inclusion through shared sports training and competition experiences. DeBiaso, an Ocean City Unified coach, along with Stephanie Hurless, started the program in Ocean City in September 2023. Ocean City School District’s Special Education Services Supervisor Annemarie Wagner-Fehn said that DeBiaso, Hurless and the rest of the staff that helped make the program successful should take the credit for a job well done. “What I do is give these great staff people the ability to do their work. I provide what they need and they get to do their magic and I get to watch,” Wagner-Fehn said. “They do a lot of great things for the kids, and we love our kids.” The players from Ocean City were Christopher Fuentes, Margaret Lockyer, Osver Oropeza, Mia Palmer, Juan Fuentes–Bautista, PJ Marino, Madelyn Meli, Stefan Millard and Natalie Murphey. Sydney Allison was a cheerleader. The players from Cedar Creek were Talia Daniels, Hannah Hurley, Christopher Ropiecki and Emma Wanek.