Students of the Bellevue East Unified Track and Field team are making the school more unified. 

Unified sports make for incredible opportunities for special education students who are looking for inclusivity. According to Arbiter Sports, unified sports are part of the Special Olympics program that work to include high schoolers that are looking for friendships and a place to feel welcomed and free to be themselves in a safe atmosphere.

“I think it [unified track and field] allows them to have meaningful experiences with individuals who have special needs and learning ways to communicate and ways to play together and work as a team,” Coach Rachel Schutte said.

Unified track and field is helping to boost the confidence of all students involved. Each individual on the team helps to boost the confidence of all members of the team at every practice and every meet. 

“At the end [of a race] I feel confident,” senior Ethan Gullickson said.

Preparing for a race is vital for success. For many student-athletes, doing a lighter workout the day before or getting plenty of rest and eating mindfully, helps to ensure a good performance when competing.

“I take the day before as a chill day and [get] good rest and pack a good lunch,” junior Zoe Caldwell said. 

Coaching a sport, such as track, is a huge challenge and takes much patience and perseverance. Coaching Unified Track isn’t just about knowing the sport, it’s also about having experience with helping special education students and knowing their individual needs.

“I don’t know anything about track, so that’s that, but I have a heart for our special education department and obviously a huge heart for our students in ISEC,” Schutte said. 

According to NSAA, students involved in unified track at the highschool level compete in the same events. Competing in the same events allows all students to have an equal opportunity to try to compete in all events. All students have a partner that is special education, and they all compete and the partners’ times are combined for the total time to find their final placing. 

“[I do] the shot put, long jump, 100 yard dash, and the 4×100 relay,” Gullickson said. 

Unified track has several positive outcomes. These outcomes have been proven by the Bellevue East unified track team.

“I think it is really beneficial for Bellevue East because it widens our category and makes us a more unified school,” Caldwell said.