Spring Branch ISD Featured News

Contact was made. Balls were flying. Friendships resulted.

Recently, the Memorial High School (MHS) golf team invited fellow students from the special needs community to two practices at the Memorial Park Golf Course range and putting greens. 

Participation in the golf practices by MHS students with special needs is part of the school’s continuing participation in the Special Olympics Unified Sports® movement, which aims to introduce sports involvement to students with learning disabilities through engagement with school athletes. Previously, Unified Sports events were held with the MHS football and basketball teams, and this year the opportunity expanded to the golf team, under the direction of Coach Paul Colquitt.

Collaboration and cohesion

The coach met with Zoe Korman in the MHS Special Education department and director of the Unified Club, and they decided that participating in two practices with the boys and girls golf teams would be a good introduction to the sport for the students with special needs while deepening the athlete’s spirit of sportsmanship.

To prepare, students in the MHS Unified Club teamed up with the school’s broadcast group and the Yearbook and Photography Clubs to publicize the event in morning announcements and through fliers.

“The benefit of having this event is that it creates cohesion between kids with learning disabilities and our athletes,” Colquitt said. “We want them to feel loved, important, special and included. It honors the district’s Every Child core value.”

“The Unified Club approach helps people without disabilities to turn from unconscious bias to conscious inclusion in their teams, organizations, families, and communities,” said Korman.

Building friendships through golf

With respect and encouragement, the MHS boys and girls golf athletes helped their fellow students line up shots and make contact between clubs and balls, all while creating student-to-student connections.

“Many of my athletes reached out to me after our first practice telling me how much fun they had with the Unified kids,” said Colquitt. “That interaction in the hallways on campus between the Unified athletes and the varsity golf athletes is EXACTLY what we want.” 

Korman was thrilled her students were included in the golf teams’ practices. Also, the broadcast, yearbook and photography students came out to support the Unified athletes at the Memorial Park Golf Course. Korman noted her students saw the benefits of their pre-event collaborations and were able to experience a new sport through the Unified Golf events.

“I really loved seeing my athletes, who are really good at golf, sharing their skills with the Unified students. It is a true embodiment of sportsmanship,” Colquitt said. “Inclusion is incredibly important at MHS and in SBISD, and every single child deserves a chance to expand their interests and hobbies. That is our goal with Unified Golf.”

A highlight for Korman was when one of her students exclaimed, “I am really good at golf.” 

Memorial High School is just one of the schools in SBISD that supports unified sports. Last year, Spring Woods High School achieved an impressive accomplishment by being named a Special Olympics National Banner Unified Champion School®.

This recognition is due to the school's unwavering commitment to meeting 10 standards of excellence that promote inclusion. Their efforts to sustain these activities have not gone unnoticed, and we applaud our Mustangs and Tigers for leading by example in our district.