Indian Creek students receive new jerseys for Unified Sports

WINTERSVILLE – Indian Creek High School unified sports athletes have some new uniforms for the inclusive program following a special trip to Cleveland on Nov. 10.

Eight players and coaches attended a jersey and gear reveal at Huntington Bank Field with the Cleveland Browns, which partners with Special Olympics Ohio. Among those participating were Jefferson County Unified Sports Coordinator Tom Mort, ICHS Unified Sports Coordinator Amber Scott, coaches Franco Barcalow and Kaleb Mannion, and players Tatum Deem, Brayden Stewart, Elijah Painter, Alex Fabian, Colton Dawson, and Parker Heath, while the athletes received custom-made duds and had a chance to interact with current Browns players.

Unified sports are part of the Unified Champion Schools program and Indian Creek is among the Jefferson County schools presently involved. The program blends general students and pupils with intellectual and developmental disabilities and activities have been held locally for the past five years, including flag football, basketball, and track events with the likes of Buckeye Local, Edison, and Steubenville high schools. The most recent gathering was the Spooky Bowl flag football game played at Kettlewell Memorial Stadium in Wintersville on Oct. 30 against Edison, while another matchup is set within a matter of days.

Mort said more than 25 unified sports teams were on hand from throughout the region and the reveal generated plenty of excitement among the players.

"There were over 100 unified athletes in attendance," Mort said. "We received an email invitation from James Yancy, regional director for Unified Sports, and Amber Scott immediately got permission for us to attend. It was a fabulous bus trip and the kids were so excited on the way up. I felt like a dad taking his kids to an amusement park [because every five minutes someone asked], 'Are we there yet? How much longer?'"

The team will display their new threads as they take on Steubenville Big Red -- whose team will also have their own new jerseys -- during the upcoming Turkey Bowl flag football game on Nov. 24 at 10 a.m. The matchup will be held at Harding Stadium and the teams will have a friendly game on the field to promote inclusivity and community. One special highlight will be the awarding of the new Joe Pierro Trophy, which is in tribute to the beloved Big Red Coach who passed away this past year. Mort said Pierro was a significant part of the school community and should also be recognized for the efforts he made for kids.

"We will be dedicating this game to Joe Pierro. He was a teacher and a coach and he dedicated his life to kids, especially kids who play in unified sports," Mort explained. "The trophy will go annually to the home team. A lot of times the trophy would be housed by the winning team, but we are all winners here. While the kids watch the scoreboard and want to come out on top, unified sports do not place a premium on 'winning,' per se."

He added that the inclusive program has grown over the past five years since it has been implemented within the county schools, expanding from Indian Creek to Buckeye Local, Edison, and Steubenville. Mort said traveling to Cleveland to receive the new jerseys was another reason to smile.

"Just another great feature of unified sports, the students were treated like NFL players and they will never forget it," he concluded. "I seem to say this all the time, but unified sports is just getting started and there is so much more to accomplish. We are so grateful for the support of our administration and the community as a whole."