The gymnasium fills with roars of enthusiasm. Students crowd the bleachers anticipating this event.
This is no average assembly.
This is The Big Game.
Eagle Pals is all about inclusion. Eagle Pals formed at Lakes Community High School 18 years ago. Their mission, according to Michelle Curtis, a paraprofessional and sponsor of the club, is for “special needs students to feel included, to have something to do after school once in a while.” Pushing for students to feel included is a prominent and emphasized aspect of the club.
Amber Cornelius, the activities director at Lakes, mentioned that “everything is about inclusion… pairing kids with special needs, with their peers who have typical needs, and just making sure that everybody knows, we’re all in this together, and let’s figure out a way for us all to work together and be understanding about each other.” Cornelius aims to celebrate student differences in a fun and welcoming environment, and Eagle Pals does just that.
This past winter all of the Eagle Pals participated in a floor hockey game against the Lakes staff and ended up victors. The students “were very excited that they have continued their undefeated streak against the staff,” Curtis said.
The students who participate in the annual floor hockey game are also the same students who play in the basketball game; however, they are under a new title: the Buddy Ballers. Last year, the Buddy Ballers traveled to Wauconda High School for “an all-school assembly… it felt just like going into a regular basketball game… there were cheering, and crowds, and we had a locker room. It was a really neat and positive experience,” Curtis said.
On March 14th, the Buddy Ballers played in The Big Game in the main gym at Lakes Community High School during an in-school assembly. The Buddy Ballers played in front of the entire school in an intense rivalry matchup against the Sequoit Sidekicks of Antioch. The gymnasium was full of smiles, joy, and school spirit. Despite the cross-town rivalry, Lakes students cheered for both schools and created an encouraging environment.
Coach David Milostan in a pregame interview mentioned, “[w]e are going to give it everything we got and try our best, I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve. We worked hard in practice, got some shots up, and worked on some different plays.”
Senior Buddy Baller, Tomasz Glab, was “feeling good” during a post-game interview where he recapped his impressive performance with multiple steals and points. Similarly, Sequoit Sidekick Logan Saia said that the game was “absolutely amazing.”
In the end, the Buddy Ballers defeated the Sequoit Sidekicks 17-14. However, in this case, the score is not what matters the most; the goal is to demonstrate inclusion, sportsmanship, and equality. Everyone should be treated equally regardless of their disability, race, sex, or background. The Big Game showed that everyone can come together to respectfully celebrate differences and demonstrate the true meaning of inclusion.
Talon Sports would like to thank the students and staff who participated in Inclusion Week and for creating a warm and welcoming environment for the students playing in The Big Game.
Players on the Lakes Buddy Ballers team consisted of: Tomasz Glab (#23), Camdan Taylor (#6), Elena Arnholt (#7), Zachary Perez (#11), Logan Twarling (#3), Grayson Kenworthy (#14), Emiliano Sanchez (#17), Nico Schodtler (#12), Jasmine Velasquez (#25), Antonio Wolanin (#18), Amaya Zapata (#21), Alex Price, Lizzy Funari-Sohn, Anna Green, and Coach David Milostan.
Players on the Antioch Sequoit Sidekicks team consisted of: Katie Renkens (#4), Claire Dienes (#15), Selena Rodriguez (#9), Riley Perez (#8), Raevaughn Bacon (#13), Rylan Nash-Vaughn (#2), Ben Sanfilippo (#3), Logan Saia (#10), Zoe Davidson (#19), Sean Jerozal, Carlooz Zarate, and Cheerleaders Adysyn Theel and Anna Jantczak.
