'I'm glad I have a team': New Smyrna Beach Unified hoops squad wins games, inspires others
NEW SMYRNA BEACH — The boys and girls basketball programs at New Smyrna Beach high school are doing well this season.
The boys boast a 19-4 record, and the Lady Barracudas piled up 16 wins for the second consecutive year.
There’s another basketball team, though, at New Smyrna Beach that is doing just as well. The ‘Cudas' Unified program, made up of players with disabilities and of players without, is 3-1 and the Special Olympics’ No. 2 ranked team in Florida. The ‘Cudas will begin their quest for a state championship Friday, Feb. 3.
New Smyrna Beach is the only school in Volusia County that has a Unified program. Deltona, Spruce Creek and Seabreeze once had Unified sports but no longer participate in the program. The ‘Cudas have to travel to Jacksonville and Orlando to compete against other Unified teams.
Unified is a national athletics program from the Special Olympics that is now in more than 4,500 elementary, middle and high schools around the country. On the court, a Unified basketball team has three players with disabilities referred to as, "athletes" and two players without disabilities called, "partners". The partners can’t be any players from the school's varsity team but can play for the junior varsity team.
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Partners facilitate the game to make sure athletes get scoring opportunities. They can score but can’t, however, dominate the game.
“I really like to see the joy on their faces when we win a game or when they make a basket,” partner Jayden Gonzalez said. “Small things make them happy.”
The overall interest from the school has pleasantly surprised coach Mark Tidman, who has been in the program for four years. He appreciates the positive support from students who attend games and from Exceptional Student Education program who don’t participate but have become their classmates’ biggest fans.
The athletes have grown on and off the court. The team’s leading scorer, athlete Sydney Auborn has enjoyed connecting with her friends and aims to become the best player she can be.
“Playing on this team helps me know how to do things instead of laying around not doing anything but work,” Auburn said. “It makes me feel confident about myself when I do win. I’m glad I have a team and I’m glad I play basketball. It’s fun for me.”
Auborn scored 18 points in her first game with no sports experience and many of the Unified’s athletes never played a sport prior to joining the program. Although Auborn still gets anxious before games, Tidman said her nerves disappear when she steps onto the court.
“These kids, their confidence, it’s just amazing sometimes,” Tidman said.
Tidman wants the program to continue expanding. He hates that more local schools don’t participate in Unified, which also offers flag football, track and bowling.
One day, he’d like Unified basketball games to be in the lineup with basketball tournaments hosted by the school.
Partner Gabriel Kemick offered a simple solution to how the program can continue to grow.
“Just more of it,” he said. “More sports, more players, more everything. I love it.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Prep basketball: New Smyrna Beach Unified team is ranked No. 2 in Florida
