Unified basketball building up community

NORTH SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) – It’s an introduction fit for the pros.

“Well, a lot of the kids just created their own, and a lot of them, like for mine the boys wanted me to be the Slayer, so they just want to have fun with it and make it unique things,” Gabby Wameling, a senior on the C-NS Unified Basketball Team, said.

Every basket sounds like a game-winner.

“This is just a jovial time. Kids are enjoying themselves, enjoying the company, fans are cheering everybody on for both teams. It’s a perspective that doesn’t happen very often in any other sport other than Unified sports,” C-NS Head Coach Eric Smith said.

For Isaiah Hudson, he is proud of himself for being a good teammate.

“Like say go! Go, friends! Go, friends!” Hudson explained how he cheers for his teammates.

It’s the positive friendships that bring the team closer together and keeps players coming back season after season.

“I just love putting smiles on these kids’ face and giving them something that they look forward to and truly making them happy. I love being a part of it,” Wameling said.

And for those who watch, they leave wanting to come back.

“The learning that happens from watching the kids and seeing the smiles on their faces is something that you can’t forget, and if you come to one event, you feel like you need to come back to many events because it’s just that enjoyable and that rewarding,” Coach Smith said.

And so much more than just a basketball game.