The Marriotts Ridge Allied Sports community is full of positivity and fun. The Allied Sports program gives students with special needs an opportunity to compete with peers and be a part of their community. They play sports year-round, and are currently in the midst of a soccer season.
“It’s been a journey playing for Allied soccer, it’s been a couple fun years,” said senior William Ashbaugh.
Ashbaugh, who is a veteran and leader on the team, has a good sense for the value of the program. He has truly enjoyed his years on the team, having lots of fun along the way. Now, he looks to befriend and mentor the new players, keeping the community strong.
“It’s just about having fun, playing a good game, enjoying the time you have, it’s all about that. It’s all about family, it’s just about family,” said Ashbaugh.
There is a tight bond between the players in the Allied Sports program. The players have the opportunity to build lasting relationships with each other. Like Ashbaugh says, “the team is truly a family.”
The Allied Sports program has created an interconnected community across schools. These relationships between peers are valuable, and are another reason why the program is so important.
“We get to know these teams that [we normally] wouldn’t really get to talk to,” said Ashbaugh.
A big part of this team is the coach, Special Education teacher Mrs. Shearer. She has enjoyed being with the team this season and does for the students involved. “I got into it last year because I was in a role where I didn’t get to work with any students and I really missed engaging with kids,” commented Shearer.
Now, Shearer has an opportunity to build relationships with her students, and gets to interact with them on a regular basis.
“ [Allied Sports] gives the students who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to participate in sports a really good opportunity and [a chance] to compete against their peers…[it] gives them the highschool experience that everyone else is having, which is really nice,” explained Mrs. Shearer.
Shearer believes that Allied Sports is a great experience for the players. Allowing them to be united with the other athletes of the school, it gives the athletes an important chance to engage with others inside and outside the program, all while playing the sports they love.
“In the past home games, the other athletes and the other sports teams come out and cheer for both teams,” Shearer remarked. “The parents [of the Allied Sports athletes] also get to have that experience of their kid being an athlete, getting to go to the games, so that sense of community is very strong. They get to foster friendships with some peers that are part of it because oftentimes those peers are often in the best buddies program, so they get to develop that friendship with other students they otherwise would not have been able to develop.”
The community built around the program is strong as they show support for not just our Marriotts Ridge athletes, but Allied athletes of other schools as well.
As the Allied soccer season winds down, there is still much to look forward to. The Allied Sports program will resume with bowling this winter, and softball in the spring. The community will continue to grow, opening up opportunities and helping the players form relationships that will last a lifetime.