The Unified sports season is coming around the corner. As students and coaches gear up to get started practicing and playing, they also start looking into Arlington High School student helpers. 

Many kids have different reasons for why they want to help on the Unified team and how they got connected. Whether they have friends or siblings who play, or just want to be involved, student helpers are a great way to add connection into the team. 

“Mainly because I know a lot of people who are struggling that are on the spectrum of things. So I just wanted to be there to help and support […] My friend plays on the Unified team and he told me to do it because I played Unified soccer last year with them and they really liked my help,” Bryce Southern (‘26).

Being a part of something that is not only benefiting yourself but also benefiting who you are helping can bring a happiness into people’s lives who may not have thought they could’ve started there. Working with kids you may not have thought you would be connected with can create a more self aware attitude while bringing the joy of others into your life. 

“I think it makes me more aware about disabilities and how to help with them […]  Like, I don’t know, just how to be a kinder, more compassionate person” Grace Norris (‘28). 

Watching the interactions between students and how they help each other while creating a special bond is an amazing thing to witness. Learning from each other is a big part of participating on the Unified team, whether you’re just helping out or actively playing, students are constantly learning leadership, friendship, and kindness. Forming a bond that will continue to grow in school and out. 

“The team benefits, for sure, because they get good leadership. They see these kids that can be role models for our students, and they just teach them a lot of different things and how to participate in a team sport together” Unified Head Coach Necole Yon Wagner.