Unified Sports & Inclusion with Clark Stukey | Beyond Expectations Podcast Ep. 21

In Episode 21 of Beyond Expectations: Parenting Autism, Michelle Chabolla and Sean Dobson are joined by Gregory's former teacher and coach, Clark Stukey, to discuss the life-changing impact of Unified Sports and inclusive education.

Clark shares how creating opportunities for students with and without disabilities transformed not only Gregory's high school experience, but also the lives of countless students. Together, they explore the power of inclusion, teamwork, and believing in every child's potential.

This episode is proudly supported by Gregory's Special Creations. Shop Gregory's handmade gifts at http://www.gregorysgifts.com.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to the podcast Beyond Expectations, Parenting Autism. Follow Michelle Shibola's journey of raising a child with autism, the challenges, victories, and rewards. If you're a parent, caregiver, or simply someone seeking to understand autism on a personal level, you're in the right place.

SPEAKER_05 0:20

All right, here we are, Beyond Expectations. And today we have Gregory Shibola joining us and Clark Stukey. And we're gonna let Clark tell you who he is and what he's doing. And of course, we have Sean.

SPEAKER_03 0:33

Welcome, Clark. Hey G Man, it's good to have the show here.

SPEAKER_05 0:38

Exactly. So, Clark, welcome to the show. This is great that you've given us this time. This is awesome. So tell us where you're at, what you do, and why you were an influence in Gregory's life.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

Okay. Um, I'll I'll tell I'll be brief in and give me, you know, kind of a description of of how I ended up doing what I did. Um, I'm I'm a son of two teachers, so so I wasn't gonna be a teacher. There was there was no way that that was gonna be my route. Um and and as I got kind of grew into um who I was and what I was about and and experiences and and realized that you know maybe maybe my parents had had something that was working. So um yeah, later in life, military and and um and then um traveled with a group called Up With People. Um that um I I well I was in the military and then and then after that at a government contract where I set off the Kemchaka Peninsula of Russia and tracked Russian test missiles. And then several years later, I'm traveling with Up With People, singing, singing for uh singing for peace throughout the world. So what 180 during that experience uh we did a lot of community service in institutions and group homes and and so forth, and that's where I that's where I realized hey, this is my passion. These are the the individuals um that that I understand um being a student that struggled in school, um having probably would have been diagnosed with ADD had that been something back in the in the day. Um often I my parents would go to parent teacher conferences and and um the teacher would say, Well, he doesn't pay attention, he struggles with paying attention. Well, I did pay attention to the fan in the room, to the lights in the room, to the kid tapping the pencil, to everything else that was going on. And and so I think that that my experience um through time certainly helped me understand, you know, individuals that that struggled. Um and you know, spelling and and I mean a lot of those things were just really hard for me. And and so I had no plans to go back to school. Um, and then realized that maybe maybe this was my path. And so I late start in life, didn't go to college, so I was 25. Um, and then uh new special education was where I belonged. So tried tried to make that somewhat brief, but but uh that's fantastic.

SPEAKER_03 3:09

That's a that's an amazing story.

SPEAKER_06 3:10

That's a great resume. That is a very rounded, well-rounded individual you are, Clark.

SPEAKER_03 3:16

Were you singing or dancing?

SPEAKER_00 3:18

What's that?

SPEAKER_03 3:19

Were you singing or dancing with double people?

SPEAKER_00 3:21

Well, I I wasn't graded either. Thankfully, thankfully, that the it's an interview process, not an audition. So it's more about more about who you are than what you can do. So so I I was a lot of I did a lot of background, a lot of background stuff. So that's yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:42

So your start in you were saying your start in special education, uh sort of uh keep going. It's fascinating.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

Well, so so yeah, then went to University of Northern Colorado um and got my um got my bachelor's degree there and started out thinking I was gonna teach social studies um originally and had a uh student taught and 30 kids in the classroom and and decided there there's no way. Um that was too much management and and uh too much tracking and less individual, you know, um connection with kids. So um I went directly into into affective needs um program at University of Northern Colorado um and and found found found my people. Um and yeah, um from there I went to to Everett Middle School in Wheat Ridge for about six years. I ran a self-contained lab for um individuals with social emotional needs. Um and then at that time um decided, you know, I wanted to, I was looking at high schools um to know that more programming, more opportunities for for students, um, not just with autism, but but that struggle was in school. Um so I wanted to be part of that. And and we lived in this area, um, blocks from Chaffield, and and I was able to get a job here in 2002, 2001, and quickly identified um a population of of students that would be primed for a basketball program. Um, my wife had been involved at Littleton High School through through Littleton Public Schools. They had unified basketball, so I'd been exposed to it. Um so when I came down the very first year, I think I had seven students in my uh math class, which Gregory knows about my math class. Um that were all um different disabilities, uh more on the severe profound range. Um and so we started the the basketball program with I had two two partners and and myself and seven seven athletes. And now um as far as I my guesstimation on counting, there's probably in my time there, um there's been probably you know two to three hundred athletes um part of the Chatfield program, um, with anywhere from seven to eight hundred peer partners that have that have run through there.

SPEAKER_03 6:24

So so unified basketball, what does that mean?

SPEAKER_00 6:27

So what unified, the idea behind it and and is that um it's individuals with more significant disabilities. Um we hate we we didn't want to put a cognitive number on it. Um we wanted to to you know have those discussions with the individuals involved, parents, coaches, and see if it fit. We didn't want to, we didn't want to go with this whole idea that it has to be a severe profile in population or they have to have you know um what whatever you know whatever tag you want to put on it. Um we we didn't care for that. Um and so the the key behind the unified is is is taking um students that I guess you regular peers, and there's I never come up with a good term for typical student. Is that the word we want to use? Well that I uh yeah, I have a hard time with an e honestly.

SPEAKER_03 7:31

But right, well, that's all with this part of that, right? The whole labeling thing and the it's hard, it's hard, right? So kids with special needs were like all offered a chance to play basketball.

SPEAKER_00 7:44

Yes, um with partners that that assisted in some cases, like Greg, Gregory's a great example, very little um support needed um on the court. Um his ability and understanding of the game and even helping other um students or other players, uh Greg was was excellent at. So so it was based on a need to push a to push a wheelchair to to you know help um dribble a ball or you know, multiple um you know tasks that a partner could fulfill. Sometimes it's just running up the court and giving high fives. I mean it's it's uh uh so the the game itself, somebody I've always uh that's my favorite question is what people ask what the rules are. What are the rules of unified basketball?

SPEAKER_06 8:34

You get the ball and you go to the goal. And if you go to the wrong goal shot, it's okay.

SPEAKER_00 8:40

Um it drives some people crazy, but but when they see it and understand that co coaches have to get involved at times. If if there's a a player that's that's upset or you know getting aggressive or something, then then us as coaches get involved and and um we've never really had a an issue. We have referees, but the referees are there to wear stripes and blow the whistle once in a while and give how eyes uh it's really not it's yeah, it's it's not very serious. But as as you know, we know Gregory and and many of the the athletes is is it is competitive and and make the basket or how the team's doing and and so forth. So um yeah, it's amazing to me that it's been 26 years since we started.

SPEAKER_03 9:30

And and uh is this something that you said your your wife was affiliated with the program? Is this something that you guys created, or do other schools have this type of opportunity for kids?

SPEAKER_00 9:40

Yeah, so so I guess I kind of created it in Jefferson County. Um my wife at Littleton, they had three high schools, Arapaho, Littleton and and Heritage, who had programs. Um, and I don't know. There was a guy, Tony Winger was kind of my mentor out of Heritage when when I got involved um with my wife. So I I don't know, I think it goes farther back than him, but but I brought it to Chatfield and we played with Heritage Littleton and and um and Arapahoe to start, and then we got Columbine involved, um, and then Green Mountain and Ralston Valley and Lakewood and Wheat Ridge, um, Arvada West.

SPEAKER_03 10:23

Now it's a whole league.

SPEAKER_00 10:24

There, yeah, and those are all just Jefferson County teams. Um now some of those since I've not not that you know any reason uh of mine, but since I haven't been actively involved in the school um since since 2018, um there's a few of those programs that have dropped out, but there's still probably six, six or seven in Jefferson County that continue to have unified PE programs and then a unified basketball program.

SPEAKER_03 10:52

And so you were, I guess we kind of jumped over the part. So you were um a special education teach education teacher, and then that covered that covered PE.

SPEAKER_00 11:03

Um, not originally. Um that's I started teaching, I think probably at that time. I was doing mostly math and some learning strategies, uh, maybe some affective needs uh classes, transition classes. Um, but I recognized that when I saw the PE program, a PE class, um, and then a couple of paraprofessionals would go in with five or six students that were from the um challenge program at the time is what what it was called. Um, and they would do stuff off to the side and and they'd just kind of adapt what their regular class was doing. Um and so I felt like that the the typical students were the priority, and then we'll fit fit these guys in where we can or keep them off to the side even. Um, they'd walk around the the side the outside of the gym while something basketball was going on or something. So I I that was uncomfortable to me. That didn't feel right. And and so I started proposing that unified um PE program, having having classes um where we had peer partners. Um and so we started that originally um they could not get PE credit um because we they weren't doing the you know the presidential test of achievement and and standards and stuff for for PE. Um the the unified the um the athletes could unified athletes could get kind of but not the peer partners. So I think Michelle even pulled those that those uh statistics up and found out in 2008 it became an official program in Judgment County where um students could get PE credit. Well then we became it was uh we became the easy PE credit, um was the idea for some students, um, which then we went to an interview process to to kind of screen who we brought in. And and um, and as Michelle said, we we had some some of our best partners were kids that that weren't school kids. Um they were the kids hanging out, you know, um, we'd say the green box that were smoking cigarettes or you know, not making it regularly to class. And and when they found their niche, I mean they've found their their place in life. Um, I mean, I I get emotional talking about it.

SPEAKER_03 13:33

Um really so really it helped it helped see you had some kids that were maybe not on a great path or not not loved the school, engaging in school, and finding other things that might not have been super helpful to spend their time on. And you and they got recruited in to be the the partners for the unified P for the for the kids with special needs.

SPEAKER_00 13:55

Exactly, exactly. And and um, you know, and I can remember doing interviews and and I I you know I felt like um you know if I could look a kid in the eye and say, you gotta be there. If you if you can be there, if you show up, then then we're golden. I mean, we'll we'll take it from there, and that's all I ask is you're there every day. I mean, obviously there's you know, you can be sick and stuff, but but um, but you know, those kids that were willing to make that commitment. Um, I mean, we we have does the name Trent Carpenter mean anything to you, um, Gregory? Do you remember Trent Carpenter?

SPEAKER_07 14:33

Yes, I remember Trent Carpenter, yes.

SPEAKER_00 14:35

Do you remember Trent? Yeah, and and Trent would be fine with me sharing this. I you know, I'd hate to drop names, but but you know, he he was he was a hanging out at the green box and and smoking other stuff too, and and um just kind of a happy go-lucky kid, but wasn't showing up the classes and so forth. Well, he's he's a he's a special education teacher at Ponderosa High School right now.

SPEAKER_04 14:59

Oh wow, really? He was one of your partners, your peer partners are phenomenal.

SPEAKER_00 15:04

Um yeah, it's just so cool. And Logan Chrysal, do you remember Logan? I don't know if you remember Logan Gregory. He might have been before.

SPEAKER_07 15:13

I I do remember Logan.

SPEAKER_00 15:15

Yes, um, he was a special education teacher at an elementary in Douglas County, and then um who Alison Ortega Ortega Alison Ortega that nominated Gregory for prom case, she's she's been teaching for eight years, special ed. Yeah, and there there's yeah, there's there's others and and many more I probably don't even know, but I mean it's really incredible, right?

SPEAKER_03 15:40

So the idea was to give the specialties kids some some help, and it turned out the help went the other way.

SPEAKER_00 15:46

Absolutely, absolutely, and and that's that's I guess I don't know, mantra or whatever however you want to put it. Um that's the thing I think I'm most proud of. And and um have have always said at our banquets and so forth that that the partners get more out of it than the athletes. I truly believe that. Um everybody gains, everybody gains, but but I think a stuff, you know, uh an awareness of self is is so so prevalent for so many of these partners. They realized, you know, what and and to to be honest, we had some that that um I had just one in in that I'm thinking of right now. Um she's I believe valedictorian, salutatorian. Um, but PE, she was not a PE kid at all, and just dreaded the fact that she had to take a half a credit of PE. So she came and did Unified. Um, and she had a hard time. Um, I think she uh she wrote an excellent paper at the end um stating uh you know how how it made her more aware and and just um how much it did for her, but she said honestly, I I had a hard time. This was hard for me, and and but I learned, and that's all I mean, that's all you can ask.

SPEAKER_03 17:01

Yeah um but that is fascinating. So part of what the I think I think you know the mission we have here for Michelle and Gregory to to share their story and to be able to to give advice to families, and we always kind of frame it into the family that just got the diagnosis. But in your case, you were dealing with primarily high school age kids.

SPEAKER_00 17:19

Yes, and right. Um, and that's most of my experience, middle school for the first six years and and then primarily, yeah, high school.

SPEAKER_03 17:29

So it's so it's so I think that part of this is we want to get good advice, and you have such valuable experience, and it made such a huge impact. Um for those parents that are sort of a little bit, you know, it's like Michelle can do can you know described it to me for years that you're you're kind of there's no rule book, there's no manual, you're you're learning as you go. Have you seen a few things that would be that would sort of manifest themselves into helpful hints or to-dos, not to-do's for sort of parenting and interacting with the with the school and and in with the PE program?

SPEAKER_00 18:00

Yeah, I I think I think at the high school level, I don't think it takes, I mean, if you can if you can attend an assembly or you can, you know, um do something where you know where the whole school's involved or should be involved, um, and see what that looks like. How how are students integrated and and and not just integrated, but but the relationship um that goes on there. I mean, great Gregory was homecoming king. Um that was fun. And and that's because of because of of the impact he had and was allowed to have at the school. And the um the the that he he was exposed to everything you know kids were doing and at lunch and activities and and you know with the the basketball program and and so forth, and they got to know who he was and what he was about.

SPEAKER_03 18:57

Um but uh because I from the outside looking in, if if I was in Michelle's place and I was concerned for Gregory, I would be very I would be kind of the opposite. I would think the kids are gonna be me. And they were gonna be teasing and bullying and and that kind of thing. And is that that just turns out to be just not a big problem?

SPEAKER_05 19:18

Yeah, I think I was bullying, but learned, I'm sorry, with him, with all these other peers, he was protected, don't you think? Mr. Stuoky was gonna be a bully, right? But I dared somebody to bully Gregory. I think kids would freak out, right? I mean they would.

SPEAKER_00 19:41

Yeah, yeah, and I and I think that that what I what I saw through my years is is if you have an identifiable disability that it that it's recognizable fairly easily, um most kids are are pretty good um for the most part. Some of the social emotional stuff that that you know from from first view, you you the kid looks no different than anybody else, but why are they acting this way? Or you know, and and that's that's where that that that I lack there's a there's a term for it, but lack of I can't think of it, but empathy.

SPEAKER_05 20:19

Yeah, you have more empathy when you can visualize it rather than try to figure it out, right? Right. You're you're not sure, so you keep your distance, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:28

Right, you're right. Um but um but no, I think yeah, I think yeah, I I definitely so as an educator, how did you how did you kind of create that environment where where everyone was accepting and empathetic and protective? Um you know, I th I think I think somewhat in this day and age, um even elementary schools are doing a fabulous job with peer partner programs and and even through middle school. Um I'm trying to remember what the program was. Did Gregor go to Dirk? Circle of Friends.

SPEAKER_04 21:04

It was awesome.

SPEAKER_00 21:04

Yeah. So a lot of that was established early. Um, but certainly with within within my classroom, um I had I had a list of rules, you know, and but um I don't know that I was great about following them myself, but but respect respect was was huge. Just you know, treat treat people as you want to be treated yourself. But I never felt like, and Gregory can can um certainly disagree with me, but I never felt like in my classroom that there was really ever any issue. And and at times if it got kind of loud or something like that, what would you do, Greg?

SPEAKER_07 21:44

I would I would hide his desk and give the turn place. What's that?

SPEAKER_05 21:55

I didn't he said he would hide, but what did you do during class at all?

SPEAKER_07 22:02

But I would if it got loud, maybe just yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:08

I don't know that you ever left my class, but you didn't have any problem turning around and looking at the student and saying, you know, could you could you be quiet? Um maybe please came in there sometimes, and maybe not. Um but it was easy for me to recognize when students were frustrated. If um we did a lot of group activities, a lot of working together, which which is great um on one side, but certainly for for an individual where structure and and um quiet is is beneficial, that that can be hard. But but Greg really adapted well and I I could tell. And and so we had students, or we would um we had another classroom we could use, we could go in the hall, a group could go out there, whatever the case, to make sure everybody was was uh you know, except the the environment was working for them.

SPEAKER_05 23:04

Right. Because you had you had everything from athletes to I mean you had a very broad um I don't know what you would call it, but range of of uh kids in your class.

SPEAKER_00 23:18

Absolutely. Um yeah, all all with you know with with struggling math skills. Um but um yeah, no, you're you're absolutely right. We had some we had a yeah, some star athletes in the class that just really math.

SPEAKER_05 23:35

Everybody loves math.

SPEAKER_03 23:37

Yeah, but that's amazing. So what about teachers? What have you have you seen things that work better or work not as well in the classroom that people would benefit from your experience?

SPEAKER_00 23:49

Well, I think that's the structure is is certainly very important, and and um I think that that great Gregory's a good example, but other students that when when the bell rings, that means class starts. And and I and I know that that I've uh I've had my own you know times where I've pushed into the classroom with students to support them, and and that that bell means something. And and you know, when when it's uh teachers aren't organized or it takes time to get the class started and the kids start talking, and and then you're gonna have a harder time bringing them in. So I think right from the start, that was always something that that I did. Class starts, warmups on the board, boom, we we get going. And um, and then I clearly had you know the warm-up on there um as far as the structure of the class and then then guided insur instruction and then guided instruction and then practice, and then we usually did a review at the end and make sure there weren't any questions at the end. So that was consistent um through every class for me, except for if there were times that we're really struggling, and and you know, Greg or or other students um didn't understand a concept or we needed more practice, then we do we did, you know, we took a poll or or just kind of chatted through and and I could I could tell where we needed to spend more time. But but that structure is is obviously important. I think you know anybody would say with with I mean you could say uh an individual with autism structure is important. Any kid, any kid I think needs needs a structure and needs to know what's gonna happen and not not everything be a surprise. And um, yeah, I mean I need that in my own life.

SPEAKER_02 25:41

Yeah, but it becomes very important, right?

SPEAKER_00 25:43

Yeah, right, yeah, increasingly important. But yeah, Sean, to answer your question, you know, somebody looking to go into a high school and and try and decide if this is a place that would work for their students. I mean, I would ask, I mean, it's hard to have a parent go in and and observe a class. Um I've had it happen, but um I I think that's um that's kind of obtrusive and and I think that's a struggle for for everybody. But um certainly conversations with with um teachers and and administration and even parents, you know, there's parent groups that I'm sure Michelle through the years you talked to to many parents that were thinking about their kids coming to you know whatever school is at. Yeah. Um so reach out to those parent groups and and ask those questions, um, and see what activities and yeah, um see what's going on. But but yeah, the activities I think are huge. I mean, Chatfield now, I mean we started with unified PE and then we went to unified um drama and unified music and unified art and umified cooking. Um so yeah, it's cool. And they've continued.

SPEAKER_05 27:01

So that's right. It was so important in Gregory's life, it really was. That's the organized sports were never an option when he was young, and the other kids are doing them, you know.

SPEAKER_03 27:12

Right. I never thought about it. It's such a huge thing in children's lives these days, youth sports take over the family, or it did in my house. Right, yeah, and so and so for kids with autism or kids' disabilities, there's a whole chunk of like social life and like everyone else's day that they're not participating in.

SPEAKER_05 27:30

Absolutely, and then if you have a sibling, if they have a sibling, they're drugged to all those, right? Right roller hockey, we went to soccer, we went to everything for Michael, and what was there for Gregory? There really wasn't anything until high school, and man, we jumped in all fours and he loved it, he absolutely loved it. He got a jersey, he had a team, he had a coach. We went to different high schools and played, which was fun, right?

SPEAKER_00 28:00

Gregory, did you have a jacket? Did you get a unified jacket?

SPEAKER_04 28:04

That's the only one I'm gonna wear.

SPEAKER_03 28:05

Yeah, that's the only one we're gonna wear. Well, like we were talking about this, it all kind of escaped me until you said that, Michelle. Like this is huge, right? Because so every other kid is playing so many sports.

SPEAKER_05 28:17

Every this this program needs to be everywhere. And if someone would take it off and do it in middle school, don't you think, Coach Dukey in high school, it would just elevate it because they'd be they already somewhat know the it would be fun, right? Because then they'd be coming from one program to the next, but keep it at that age level, right? I just I think it's huge all the way around.

SPEAKER_00 28:40

I think I think the other the piece is the other piece is is the buy-in of of whether it's coaches or you know, um people helping out. Um there, I mean most of us are are volunteers, and and for me to volunteer one night a week, you know, sometimes two nights a week, and and um that Saturday tournament and stuff was was no big deal. I mean, that it was well worth it to me, you know. But what I came up, what I got out of it was well beyond the the time that I that I gave. And and for me, I mean my girls were involved, my wife was involved at Littleton, so so our whole family was involved in in unified. But we do find that as a struggle when some schools is finding somebody who's willing to to volunteer. And and some schools have paid small stipends to coaches.

SPEAKER_06 29:29

Um wow.

SPEAKER_00 29:31

And you know, to to for their time. Um, but um, but that's often, you know, I gotta give a Saturday to go to a unified tournament, you know, when when you know I've taught all week and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_03 29:43

Um it's actually a school team, it's not like a little e like an outside sports website.

SPEAKER_00 29:51

Well, it's part of the school, it's part of the school, and that's how we get the bet the courts. Um, the key is you know, that me as a teacher there, and where we have um the players are all from the school.

SPEAKER_03 30:02

It's it's yeah, um was it hard for you to get buy-in from the school to allow you to do it?

SPEAKER_05 30:07

Court time's hard, right?

SPEAKER_00 30:09

Yeah, court time's hard. Um, we often did, you know, our practice and stuff in the evening, um, but we were always able to get um, you know, I was uh through through my experience and and with my wife and stuff, you see when when the boys' team is playing um they're away that day. All the all three levels are playing at another school. And so the girls have the main gym for their three levels, and then we would get the auxiliary gym for our games or practices or whatever. So so yeah, it was really one one night a week um from you know late November to December, January, February, and then we had the tournament in March that we always hosted at Shafield.

SPEAKER_06 30:52

March Madness.

SPEAKER_00 30:54

What's that? March Madness.

SPEAKER_03 30:58

And you were saying you were saying, Coach, that now there's a whole group of extracurriculars available to kids, and they just that just five years ago, 10 years ago, that just wasn't a thing. At all of the extracurriculars and the the the social clubs and the sports.

SPEAKER_05 31:12

I don't think the cooking was there when Gregory was there, right?

SPEAKER_00 31:15

No, and those those are classes, those are classes, but yeah, cooking I think has been in the last yeah, 10, 12 years. Um the art, I think, was probably there, and the drama was probably there. Um, but yeah, those are those are classes, and and then um typical students take them as an elective. Um it can um do the art credit or the music credit if if uh need be. Well, those are all part of fine arts.

SPEAKER_03 31:46

But the sports, the sports is after hours, like a normal sports team, after hours, off school hours requires requires a teacher, someone on the staff at the school to take responsibility for it.

SPEAKER_00 31:57

Right. Right. And and that's that's typically what it what it's been. Um there's there's schools that do unified PE or uh unified bowling, that that that's an extracurricular sport. Um, I think baseball or softball has has soccer. Um, we were asked at one time to do soccer. Um, I think that was kind of my my tra my tailing years of uh before retirement. There wasn't sure that was something I wanted to take on. I I have and my my wife, I think, is the same way at her school, is is uh hard hard to say no. Um and uh so we're often involved in a lot of different things, which is great. I mean, I wouldn't I wouldn't change a thing. I love it. I love it.

SPEAKER_05 32:43

This is backed by the Special Olympics, Sean, now because they recognize it as a a sport.

SPEAKER_02 32:49

Oh, that's fantastic.

SPEAKER_05 32:50

You get to do, and I don't know, coach, where the the uh special Olympics track day was that you know when they did the track and field stuff, is that in conjunction with this or was that something separate? Because we had our own track meet as well once a year.

SPEAKER_00 33:05

Yeah, that that was through the school through Jefferson County. Um and um I don't know, I don't really know what Special Olympics um involvement was. We we were kind of careful with with Special Olympics, we didn't receive any funding from Special Olympics. Um, they have a tournament about the same time we did, and they had it was more competitive and and they were um no wheelchairs on the court because of safety, um some of that. So our uh our tournament, we just hope that nothing happened. Um but uh yeah, we had wheelchairs. If you wanted to be on the court, you could be on the court.

SPEAKER_04 33:43

That's right.

SPEAKER_05 33:44

I highly recommend it. And there's a way to look it up online. And if if anyone's interested in getting it started on their high at their high school, they need to they need to jump in because it's absolutely um and and it's probably I mean it's probably called different things.

SPEAKER_00 33:58

So I think unified sports is is I would I would venture to say that's pretty nationally known. Um, but you know, you can go into a high school and ask, do you have unified programs? Do you have um whether it's uh classes or um you know extracurricular activities or sports, um, and ask about unified programs and and and they might title it something different, um, but I would hope that every high school in this day and age has something um going on. Wow. You you you see so much more on on on national television, even of kids hitting a half court shot in a unified basketball game or something where the whole crowd and you know rush the court or whatever.

SPEAKER_03 34:47

I've I've really just seen the ones where you have one student that's that's supported by the team, part of the team, but uh and then they then they get a chance to come in and and play through the season. Right. It sounds so much better because it's a full you're part you're participating, you're like like your siblings are out there on the field and you're playing and you're and you're on and developing all the stuff that comes.

SPEAKER_05 35:09

We even played halftime Sean at the Nuggets game. That was a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_04 35:14

Yeah, you went to the two more nuggets halftime, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 35:17

We played the halftime, we were that was a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_03 35:23

And then I think we and I think we just can't really say enough about the fact that if you have a kid that's not loving school and not and and not wanting to go and kind of falling on the path that this program might be the best thing in the world that happens for them.

SPEAKER_05 35:38

Oh it's amazing. We had lunch with groups of girls, calling Gregory's harem. It was all girls. Yes, all girls.

SPEAKER_00 35:50

So so just so kind of go go off script here, but but I want to tell a story, and it's not because Greg is here. Um but um when when Gregory was got Homecoming King, they had they have an assembly for homecoming every year, and um they had the king and queen from the senior class, and then I think prince and princess and uh you know duke and and duchess, you know, at each grade level. So you have these people who are nominated um from the four different classes. And do you remember, Greg, you had to compete, you competed in a name that tune. Yes, it was rock and it was rock and roll, name that tune, and Gregory was was outstanding, and and everybody was cheering for him because he was so good and and buzzed in right away, and and and and once again I'm getting emotional. Um, I was I was standing at a door because we had some students that that can't tolerate being in in the gym and stuff. So I was I was standing at the door watching them in the commons area, but watching the assembly, and I was watching that and everybody cheering for Gregory and and and I remember walking away thinking this is a great day for Chatfield.

SPEAKER_03 37:14

I mean, it was just it is more I mean the work you guys did and the help you're doing with these kids is absolutely amazing.

SPEAKER_02 37:22

Yeah, it was amazing. It is unbelievable.

SPEAKER_05 37:26

His high school experience was amazing, and when he walked across the stage at Red Rocks, he would have thought Elvis entered the LV. It was, you know, one would walk by, oh Gregory walked by, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 37:42

I remember that doing yes and all of it.

SPEAKER_03 37:45

Oh, but what a great, but what a great like leadership team that got that type of I love it.

SPEAKER_05 37:52

A great experience.

SPEAKER_00 37:54

Yeah, those those kids are the ones that made that happen.

SPEAKER_03 37:57

I mean, that none there wasn't anybody back there pushing for Gregory to be a homecoming king or or yeah, but the environment and like what you did and the leadership to kind of to get kids to understand empathy and to have everyone expose to people's differences and then have that benefit going both ways. I mean, that that's pretty special, pretty easy. I think that's what every school should should be striving for because yeah, I agree. I agree with something to emulate fascinating, and for those parents out there, it just shows that there's a lot of hope, right? There's a lot of things added, yeah. Yeah, and that's and it's and be an athlete because you want to be an athlete, right? Like the go try.

SPEAKER_00 38:36

Absolutely, absolutely, and and yeah, to have that programming. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_03 38:43

No, go ahead. So I was also we're kind of running out of time. I wanted Gregory to bring us to a close. Gregory, what you think what you think about this episode?

SPEAKER_07 38:51

Well, I really love doing this episode with my math and P8 teacher. Yes, it's a good to see yeah, great to see Coach Tookie again.

SPEAKER_00 39:04

Oh, it's so great to see you.

SPEAKER_03 39:07

What an impact Coach Tookie made. And I think it made an impact too.

SPEAKER_00 39:12

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely for sure.

SPEAKER_04 39:16

That was great.

SPEAKER_05 39:17

Awesome, awesome. Thank you so much, Coach.

SPEAKER_03 39:21

Thank you so much for coming in and sharing and for everything you've done. You bet.