In the world of high school sports, team dynamics often take the center stage. Imagine a game where everyone gets to play, regardless of ability. Where teamwork and inclusivity take over. Mrs. Montell, Mr. Helfrich, and (the learning support teachers) made this dream become a reality. On November 17th, the unified students of Hempfield Area took on Flag Football at the river hounds indoor stadium.
The process began during the 2024 school year when Mrs. Montell heard that there would be a flag football opportunity coming up. With the arrival of Mr. Helfrich at the high school, Mrs. Montell and Mrs. Trabuco jumped on the idea of starting a flag football team with her students. The process was long, but was worth it in the end. Every day 1 in the cycle the students met with student volunteers to practice flag football. They practiced every week for months leading up to the day of the event.
The teams were formed randomly and student volunteers signed up to be ‘buddies’ with the students. Mr. Helfrich and Mrs. Montell paired up the buddies randomly by who worked well with each other. During the games, the buddies had the opportunity to take on a coaching and playing role with the students.
The day of the flag football game went extremely well. “We weren’t worried about wins, losses, scoring, successes or failures. It was just.. Let’s have fun!” Mr. Helfrich said. All of the students had a great time and worked well with each other. Sophomores volunteered their time to go to Montour with the (learning support) class and the team had the opportunity to practice and play where the Pittsburgh RiverHounds play. The day was successful and the student worked well together and bonded on a special level.
“Our students are not competitive, so we opted to play for fun,” Mr Helfrich said. Despite not playing the game competitively, the students left it all out on the field and ended the games they played in a “victory.”
As for the rest of the program, Mrs. Montell is ecstatic about how far the program has come. Her hopes for the future is to get more involvement within this program with students attending bocce or becoming involved in the unified track team. “Our goal is to give these kids every opportunity we can. Our biggest goal is always just acceptance and inclusion.” Mrs. Montell said.