Co-head coach Gina Piserchio and some of her players.
WEST ORANGE, NJ — Students with intellectual disabilities shouldn’t be left out, when it comes to sports participation.
The Unified Sports program is designed to achieve that mission.
The West Orange High School Unified Flag Football program has been quite successful, giving students the opportunity to play football while having fun.
“The Play Unified program is designed to integrate students with intellectual disabilities with general education students, so that both populations of players get a meaningful experience,” said WOHS Unified Flag Football co-head coach Kristin D’Arienzo. “The students with intellectual disabilities are referred to as the athletes and the general education students are referred to as the helpers. It is a branch of Special Olympics, but differs in that Special Olympics is only athletes, no helpers.”
D’Arienzo said this particular program started in spring 2024 and it was launched by the New York Jets. “They reached out to local schools in New Jersey to see who would be willing to participate and four schools responded,” D’Arienzo. “The schools were Roxbury High School, Morristown High School, West Orange High School and Morris Knolls High School.”
The Jets informed each school they would be receiving a $5,000 grant and would be supplied with practice jerseys, shorts, uniform shirts, footballs, flags and mouth guards, said D’Arienzo.
“The Jets did an opening-day event, where all schools got to go to the training facility in Florham Park and they did two hours of drills with the kids. There were even some players there, so the kids got to take pictures with them.
“To start the season, the athletic directors set the schedule, so we would play each team twice, once home and once away. The final games of the season were played back at the Jets’ training facility in Florham Park, where all four teams played at the same time.”
There are two games happening simultaneously to determine who would advance to the championship.
This past school year was the second year it ran. The Jets were able to get 12 schools to participate, D’Arienzo said. They informed each school they would be getting $3,000 and any team that was already in the league from the previous year would not be getting any new equipment, she said.
“They also informed us this would be the last year they provide schools with money, so moving forward, we are going to have to figure out our own funding,” D’Arienzo said.
The program, however, has been a “huge success for our athletes and helpers, regardless of wins or losses,” D’Arienzo said.
D’Arienzo mentioned WOHS officials who were responsible for getting the program started for the school. They are transition coordinator Jodie Goldstein, supervisor of Special Services Dawn Ribeiro and athletic director Stephan Zichella.
“Jodie and Dawn were instrumental in getting us involved in the program set up by the Jets and with handling the money,” D’Arienzo said. “Stephan was responsible for setting up the schedule… and also was a big advocate and voice for us.”
Along with D’Arienzo, who is a biology special education teacher, the other head coach is Gina Piserchio, a paraprofessional at WOHS.
“I personally am so grateful that I was selected to coach this program, because it has been one of the best things I’ve ever done,” D’Arienzo said. “To see students who have never been a part of a team put on a jersey and come together with their friends and make new friends is a truly magical experience.
“The athletes have gotten to experience the camaraderie of being a part of a team and working toward a collective goal. Additionally, they have learned skills, both in football and in sportsmanship. If there was an award for best sportsmanship, our team would win it, hands down. Even after losing, our athletes and helpers are always saying ‘good game’ to the other team and even congratulating them on being awesome. It is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all these kids.
“This is not only an amazing experience for the athletes, but for the helpers as well,” D’Arienzo continued. “Many of these helpers are honors or AP students who don’t spend a lot of time with the students who have disabilities, so it is a great opportunity for them to do something for others and to help students who don’t understand how to play a sport.
“Coach Gina Piserchio said that the inclusion means so much to the kids. To be able to play a sport they’ve likely watched, but never played before, is so incredible. The helpers were amazing with our athletes and never lost sight of the goal of the program, which is to have fun. There are no words to express how grateful the athletes are to be included and be a part of something big.”
D’Arienzo said the the WOHS girls flag football team offered to help the Unified Flag Football team during practice, “which they did, and they were often on the sidelines cheering us on during games.
Coach ‘Maz’ (WOHS girls flag head football coach Andrew Mazurek) and his girls were so helpful with our team and would run drills with them during our practices, teaching them some valuable skills.
“Coach Gina and I have both done this for two years and it has been so rewarding for us both. We both work with the special education population during the school day, so it is truly incredible for us to see the students light up when they know it’s game day or that we have practice after school.”
As far as the future of the program, D’Arienzo said, “We’re not really sure what will happen. Because the Jets are no longer providing financial assistance to the school, if we want to continue the program, we are going to have to find a way to bring in money. We will most likely be fundraising throughout the year and hopefully we can have a third season in the spring.”
D’Arienzo said they are selling T-shirts and sweatshirts on their website at https://uptowndojo.com/collections/ wohs.
Make no mistake, the program has done wonders for the participants.
Photos Courtesy of West Orange High School Sports Media Association
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