Shooting Hoops with the Cotting School

On Friday, January 24, the WSL boys and girls basketball teams scrimmaged with the Cotting School. This all-gender game was unique in that the students from the Cotting School have a broad spectrum of learning and communication disabilities, physical challenges and complex medical conditions.

The Cotting School team consisted of players with varying degrees of disability with some using physical supports and wheelchairs and some with support staff by their sides. The court was modified to accommodate height limitations and additional people in play.

According to Keith Schnebly, and Jeff Ask, the WSL coaches, the event was an amazing experience and exceeded everyone’s expectations. The simple pleasure of a Friday night basketball game, against another team, radiated on the faces of the Cotting players as they scored a shot, made a great pass or interacted with the opposition. It wasn’t playing to win, but playing for the pure joy of it. The WSL players quickly caught the enthusiasm and spirit of the evening, encouraging, cheering and caring about the other team.

This game was eye opening for many of our team members. For some it was a first time to really interact with and enjoy time spent with people with disabilities. And the game gave everyone shared language and shared goals to work through. In addition, the Cotting School provided a wheel chair for WSL to use—our players took turns using the chair throughout the game. Many of our players took shots and a couple even made them from the chair!

This was a non-competitive evening of skill building, both team skills and life skills, and the general feeling after the game was that we all benefited from the experience. We are hoping to make this a regular event with our teams in future years.