Here at Frederick High School, our unified basketball team is a blast, and it’s all about bringing people together. Our team is a unique mix of athletes with and without intellectual disabilities, all teaming up to play some hoops and have fun but this isn’t just about the game. It’s about building these strong bonds with each other, having fun, and getting to walk out with a smile. On the court, our team really shows off their skills but off the court, you will find the most sweet and funny students
What they do is pretty cool. During their practices, they work on drills where everyone gets a chance to improve their game and learn new skills. They’re also learning teamwork, sportsmanship, and how to communicate better with each other. During the games, you get to see the magic happen where the energy is infectious, the crowd is cheering, and every player gets their moment in the spotlight.
Meet Coach Ami Galyardt.
“What’s your favorite thing about being a coach to this team?”
“I think it was weird but so cool that they let me be a coach. I wasn’t a very athletic person growing up and I’m not now and I feel like so many coaches are very athletic and being in high school, it’s all about athletics and being an athlete, but what I do like about it is I get to help out students who wouldn’t be in athletics who get to enjoy the sports that they want to do and I get to help them have fun and learn sportsmanship and just be part of the school like all of the other students”
“What’s the environment like before a game?”
“My goal is to just have fun, I am not a “Let’s win, we have to win” coach, my goal is to let every student get a shot to play, how do I make sure we get to have fun and I like to teach my students to cheer on the other team to have that kind of sportsmanship but at the same time, were still trying to win.”
Meet the team!
Carter Ahlstrom is a 12th-grade athlete. #35
Marissa Blea, 12th grade athlete. #41
Conner Fahrenbruch, 9th grade athlete, #24
Dylan Faulkner, 9th grade athlete, #21
Warren Fischer, 11th grade athlete, #33
Jacob Grigg, 12th grade athlete, #43
Alexiah Guevara, 12th grade athlete, #45
Andrew Hershey, 11th grade athlete, #20
Jett/Temper Hill, 10th grade athlete, #31
Jadon Hill, 10th grade athlete, #30
Jordan Krause, 10th grade athlete, #3
Willie Tun, 11th grade athlete, #32
Hunter Vickers, 11th grade athlete, #25
Kade Wright, 10th grade athlete, #22
Kassidy Lear, 12th grade mentor,
Julissa Soloranzo, 12th grade mentor
Alexia Galyardt, 12th-grade mentor
Shaylee O’Neill, 11th grade mentor
Abel Carmona Temu, 9th grade mentor
Ricky Lopez, 9th grade mentor
Ezequiel Soloranzo, 9th grade mentor
