Eisenhower High’s adaptive basketball team brings opportunities for students and school

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - The hardwood court is giving some Goddard students a chance to showcase their skills and dispel misconceptions about people with disabilities. Eisenhower High School is one of the area schools offering an adaptive basketball team for students.

EHS adaptive basketball coach Brian Watkins, said, “Game day, that’s all I hear about all morning is we’ve got a game today, and they’re ready for the student section to come in and cheer for them.”

Game day comes with energy, a drive and an opportunity.

EHS adaptive basketball player Charles Mathews said, “It means I have to be one of the team, be number 44.”

“I’m in a happy place, and when I’m in happy places, I get very competitive,” said EHS adaptive basketball player Ava Noel.

This is the inaugural season for the EHS Tigers adaptive basketball team. Friday, the team completed their season with a game against Wichita Chisholm High School.

Chandalyn Robinson’s son Caleb is number 15 on the team.

“It allows our students to be who they want to be and who they know they are inside,” said Robinson.

She said it’s emotional to see the power being on this team has for the players.

Robinson said, “It has boosted his self-esteem, also the other kids, it’s boosted their self-esteem seeing the other kids get excited about being here.”

It’s giving players like Mathews and Noel a chance to do something they love.

Mathews said, “Have a great time with my friends, get along, follow directions, stay on task, give it my best effort and be kind to one another.”

The team’s coach Brian Watkins said the goal is to make these students more intertwined and connected with their school.

“It’s really about inclusion. Bring our students that have cognitive disabilities back into the regular ed, I guess world, because a lot of times, they’re in their own classroom most of the day.” Watkins said, “They may come into a couple of gen-ed classes like choir or P.E., culinary, but the unified actually has the gen-ed and disabled students working together, which, most of the time, it just doesn’t happen, even in the classroom.”

Watkins said Eisenhower High offers more unified classes and sports like bowling, working toward that goal. Basketball, though, is providing more visibility for the whole school.

The schedule of these games allows for them to happen during the school day, so classes are excused, and students fill the bleachers to cheer on the team along with the players’ families.

Noel said, “When one of them is your mom and day, for me, it’s kind of scary. Yeah, makes me nervous, but makes me a little competitive.”

As the school sees them shine, it also is a space to overcome misconceptions.

“The biggest misconception, and it’s still a misconception, is with a cognitive disability, they don’t necessarily have a physical disability.” Watkins said, “They’re able to do a lot of things physically, it just takes that patience piece to understand things and giving them an opportunity is the number one thing that will go a long way with these students.”

Watkins said this visibility is having an impact on his students, and that’s relationship building.

“It really gives an opportunity for the gen-ed students to really see what the kids can do but interact socially. Cause a lot of our students have social disabilities. They get anxiety when talking, but in a small setting like this, they get to get together and truly become friends is the main thing,” he said. “We’re seeing bigger interactions in the lunchroom is a huge place. They see one of our students walk through, one of our basketball players walk through, they yell his name, there are four or five high fives. Those things just weren’t happening before. This is just the tip of the iceberg of where this could go.”

Watkins is also seeing his students taking on other opportunities in their classes or sports, including going out for cheerleading, that previously they wouldn’t have done.

Noel said, “It’s real fun, and sometimes you have to give something you think you won’t like a chance.”

It’s opportunities like this that Watkins would like to see for younger kids.

“I work with students with disabilities of all ages, starting at around 4 years old. So to me, it’s not a surprise at what these students can do,” Watkins said. “I just think to myself, where would these students be if they had an opportunity at 4, 5, 6 years old? I think the opportunities are there, but they’re not being invited by their friends to be on their team, or parents aren’t as quick to sign them up. I’m hoping, with more viewership on things like this, that it starts at an earlier age.”

Watkins said he would like to see kids with disabilities competing more in youth rec sports or other opportunities.