Stockton University’s Unified Sports Club is celebrating its 10th anniversary of being affiliated with the Special Olympics of New Jersey, and the basketball team has a title to defend.
The student-run club is one of 10 at a state college or university that compete in soccer in the fall and basketball in the winter as part of the Unified Cup, which the Stockton Ospreys won in basketball last year for the first time.
“One of the greatest things we do here in athletics is unified sports, and all the credit goes to our Stockton students,” said Associate Director of Athletics and Recreation Jeff Haines, who oversees the club. “The time, the dedication, the passion and the patience they have for our Special Olympic unified athletes is incredible.”
Special Olympics is dedicated to promoting social inclusion through shared sports training and competition experiences. Unified Sports joins people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team.
Haines said that while the club has been affiliated with Special Olympics New Jersey (SONJ) for a decade, it was established at the school at least 15 years ago. The program currently features about 20 athletes for soccer and about 40 for basketball, according to SONJ, while about 10 to 15 Stockton students participate in the program as aides and coaches.
The athletes – who range in age from their 20s to their 40s – have weekly practice meetings with the students on campus. The club also plays once a year in G. Larry James Stadium at halftime of a Stockton intercollegiate soccer game and once a year in the Sports Center at halftime of a basketball game.
This year’s basketball game on campus took place on Feb. 14, during halftime of the men’s game versus Kean University. The white team won.
Molly Schick, a senior student from Marlton, is the president of the club and has been involved since she walked on campus in 2019, after her brother’s girlfriend urged her to join the team.
“My roommate and I went, tried it out and we loved it from the first practice,” said the nursing major. “I put myself out there and just ended up loving it. I found the one thing that I loved, and I just stuck with it through four years.”
Schick explained that she’s only “played a little bit of sports” throughout her life. She doesn’t consider herself a very competitive person and before joining the club, she had very little experience working with people with intellectual disabilities.
“But I just love being part of the team,” she enthused, “supporting other people and lifting other people up.”
The relationships Schick has developed with the athletes have gone beyond just being their coach on the court. She texts some of them almost daily just to see how they’re doing, and they will often reach out to her as well. One athlete recently had an incident on a bus ride home from practice and was stuck at the Atlantic City Bus Terminal. He called Schick, and she and Matthew Long, the club’s assistant coach, got him home.
“I know that we don’t have to do that, but you build such a strong bond with these people,” Schick noted.
For Long, joining the club about a year and a half ago gave him an opportunity to continue his involvement in sports he has played his entire life, helping him grow as a person and make a difference.
“What I have learned from the whole program is to treat everyone the way you want to be treated,” advised the senior business administration major from Toms River. “No one is better or worse than anyone and this club has really taught me that.”
Long said his background in sports and team dynamics has helped make the practices enjoyable while also maintaining some structure and teaching the athletes the basics of the sports. He’s especially looking forward to defending Stockton’s Unified Cup title on Sunday, April 7, at Princeton University’s Jadwin Gymnasium. The Ospreys will face teams from Montclair State, Rowan and Rutgers, among others.
“The athletes have given me so many fun memories, and I’m so fortunate and grateful that I was able to be a part of something so much bigger than myself,” Long said.
Schick explained that not only has she made friends she will continue to keep up with post- graduation, but the Unified Sports club has left a lasting impact on her life.
“Honestly, it’s made me a better person,” she offered. “(I believe) they are going to make me a better nurse. It’s taught me so much about teamwork, communication, collaboration. I’m so glad I said yes to join my freshman year.”
