Lamphere Teachers Tara Deneau and Jamie Uhlmann had big ambitions when they created the new Unified Physical Education class here at Lamphere High School. This class takes the kids with various developmental and intellectual disabilities, students on the Autism Spectrum or with unique physical disabilities. These things do not stop our athletes from participating in the sports and activities we are teaching them. The athletes have been working on their dribbling up and down the court, in place, in a circle, and switching from hand to hand. It is a key skill that they all need to have in order to play basketball. They have been working on building stamina by playing scrimmages and small 5 on 5’s against eachother. The coaches(general education peers) have also been helping the athletes shoot the ball and push it all the way up to the rim; This can be a challenge for some of the athletes as they simply don’t have the specific strength or muscle and have a hard time getting it that high up. Passing to one another has been where a lot of these athletes strive. They are performing exceptionally well with bounce passes, chest passes, and cross-court throws to each other. Certain athletes like Owen Taylor, John Eberhart, and Michael Murray have specifically been doing great at getting rebounds under the net and taking it back up the court. Simple basketball principles like passing the ball in after a team scores, making substitutions during the game, stepping out of bounds, and playing defense against the other team have helped them learn discipline and the basic rules and procedures of basketball.

During their 3rd hour deliveries, I had the chance to interview our very special Mrs. Tara Deneau. She is the class of 2029 sponsor and the Girls Varsity Golf Coach. To start her interview, I asked her what goals she had in mind when coming up with this class and its curriculum, to which she replied, “The big goal was to really make this class inclusive, and to make kids in our classroom a part of the whole school, have some ownership at their school, have their own team together, and have something to call their own.” This response shows us that Mrs. Deneau is a perfect match to run this class; She has nothing but the best intent for this class and these kids. I also asked her what some of the biggest positives she has seen so far in this class and within these kids. Mrs. Deneau answered: “The coaches are amazing, the coaches have actually been able to draw things out of the athletes that us staff members could never do. So with the coaches being their peers, their able to connect with them in a way that adults are not, and that is all invaluable in my opinion.” I had a third and final question for Mrs. Deneau, I asked, “Going into semester two, what are your ending goals or hopes for this team?” With no hesitation she responded with “Going into semester 2, I would love to see, and I am very excited to see these athletes get the chance to play at Little Caesars Arena, and play on the Piston’s home court against other unified teams and play in a cohesive manner. And actually we have picked a couple dates, because I want the semester 1 team to have that opportunity because these coaches are truly awesome.” Mrs. Deneau could not be more appreciative of these coaches and shows her gratitude for them each and every day.

Mrs. Jamie Uhlmann is the head teacher of this class, and is extremely passionate about the success of these students. She is pushing them far and really working to make sure these athletes are learning valuable lessons and principles they can use on and off the court. I asked Mrs. Uhlmann what some of the biggest improvements were that she has seen among athletes on the court, and she responded with, “Participation. Participation is definitely the biggest improvement, we’re really working on getting them actively engaged, all the kids are actually running now, which they weren’t doing before. I really like how they are for the most part – not all of them but most of them, are listening, and they’re you know following by example.” I also asked her what the positives were while watching these athletes grow and work towards their goals each day. Mrs. Uhlmann answered with joy and told me, “That excitement factor, that feeling like, when John made the basket a few days ago, when we were doing the relays, you know the whole group got excited, and they were really trying. I think that…enjoyement- that pure enjoyment that I see, it’s something I really appreciate. I mean many of these kids have not been given that opportunity to excel. In Gen-Phys Ed., they were told to stand back or to stand to the wall, or here’s a ball. They were never really taught the skills the way we are right now. And I think that is the big thing, I think giving them that opportunity is really opening them up, and I think one of the biggest examples is Owen; Getting Owen excited about sweating is huge for him, you know others are like bothered or annoyed about it, but you know he comes in wanting to get active and sweat, and he is really trying. And there are times where something like that just makes my day.” It was amazing getting the chance to step away from the teacher/classroom dynamic with Mrs. Uhlmann and relly get her inside perspective on these athletes and how well they have been doing this semester.

The coaches in this class have been key players in helping our athletes achieve their goals and get ready to play as a team together. The coaches consist of Freshmen Nolan Vest, Sophomores Meredith LeSage, Camilla Fluery, Aubria Holmes, Christiano Vijelie Lixanderu, and Payton Harvey, and me, Senior Troy Hill. We coaches are striving to help the athletes learn what steps to take in order to succeed. Typically leading by example or even going through the motions or practices together acting as an athlete with them. This physical example helps them visualize what they need to do with their feet, their hands, and where to look when they have the ball. Our two main teachers, lovely Para-Pros, and the coaches, we have managed to help these athletes improve tremendously, and watching their happiness and joy throughout this whole process is truly an amazing feeling!

I interviewed my fellow coaches to ask them how they think the semester has been going and some other simple questions about their experience. To start these questions, I asked Camilla Fluery, “What improvements have you seen among the athletes from the beginning of the year to now?” Camilla happily answered “They’re all working together way more. I’ve seen people talk to more people that they didn’t talk to before. They’re ALL running, and they’re actually wanting to engage in the sport(s) instead of just watch.” This response was exactly what we’ve all been seeing among these athletes. Engagement is key and if we can get them actively moving, we’re doing something right. I also asked her, “What are one of the biggest positives in your opinion while watching these athletes succeed and move towards their goals?”. This question came easily to her, as she answered, “Seeing how happy they are once they accomplish something. Right now with basketball, they just look so happy achieving something.”As you can see from her amazing responses, Camilla is always positive and ready to give her all to the athletes.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Tara Deneua

Aubria and Dre taking a shot at the hoop together!

Our next coach Payton Harvey, was asked the same initial question, to which she answered “Matthew, when we started playing basketball and kickball, he couldn’t really catch the ball very well.” With Payton’s help, he has begun paying attention to the ball and catching the ball when it comes his way. When I asked her the second question, she also had a quick answer; she said, “Honestly I get very excited when they improve their skills. And before I didn’t really understand much about the athletes, but know that i’ve had the class with them, i’ve learned a lot about each of them.” This is something we can all agree with, getting to know these athletes has truly been a process in and of it itself… Payton is a great help to all of our athletes and has great friendships with multiple students in our class.

After Payton, I interviewed sophomores Aubria Holmes and Meredith LeSage. These two girls were asked the same question and they used each others answers to help them build two good responses. When asked the first question, Meredith answered “I have seen them improve their stamina, and their ability to perform in each activity we do. The more that they watch, the more that they learn.” Meredith was getting at the idea of her and her fellow coaches leading by example, and it pays off when we see these athletes do so well. When I asked Aubria what positives she saw among the athletes, she replied, “We are going to have an actual team! It is really good for the kids. And they’re learning new things, that means they’re getting smarter each day.” I went further with a third question, and asked Meredith what connections she has built between herself and some of the athletes and she answered, “I’ve been able to figure out what each kid individually needs to learn. Some may need visuals, some may need words, some need a more stern approach, or even just a little reminder.” Meredith and Aubria have really shown how observant they are to each of the athletes and have got to know each of these students really well.

Lastly, I talked to Nolan Vest, and Christiano Vijelie Lixanderu, these two students are big helps in the class and really work well with a lot of our athletes. I asked Nolan my first question to which he replied, “They’ve gotten a lot better at following directions, and completing the stretches we do everyday, and better at both of the sports we’ve played so far like kickball and basketball.” Christiano has really connected with almost all of our athletes in the class so when I asked him what some of the big positives he’s seen on the court among the athletes I was very intrigued to hear his response. He told me, “I feel like Noah is really improving so far. Even though he still can’t quite make the hoops, he is so so close, and I know if we just push him a little harder he is going to make it.” This is the exact goal that we have when coaching all of our athletes, pushing them far enough so they can feel the excitement of making that first basket.

This class is something undeniably remarkable; Getting the chance to watch these kids experience something so exciting and engaging is so rewarding and heartwarming. If you are looking for a second semester class to fill your 4th period, I highly recommend joining us and playing on our Unified Basketball team. If you don’t have room in your schedule this year and are exciting about the class, put it down on your 26-27 school year scheduling card!! Our teachers are looking for all of the students they can to join this class and it means the world to them to see these smiling faces evey day.