Unified basketball teams shine at full-day festival in Orono

By Matt Junker, Bangor Daily News Staff

Eight local basketball teams converged for a day of fun and friendship this weekend in Orono. 

The annual Unified Basketball Fun-Day Festival organized by the Courageous Steps Project brought together teams for Brewer, Orono, Ellsworth, Mount Desert Island, Old Town, Hermon, Dexter, and Hampden on Saturday, March 8.

The Maine Principals Association, which oversees high school athletics in Maine, partners with Special Olympics Maine to promote unified sports, including unified basketball. Unified basketball features students who have developmental disabilities, known as unified student-athletes, together with student partners who don’t have those disabilities. 

The result is an inclusive game that focuses on fun and togetherness over competition. 

“Unified, kind of by definition, is not really a competitive thing, so to speak,” Hermon coach Andy Sumner said during Saturday’s festival, as his team and others each played two games during a full-day schedule at the Orono High School gymnasium. “There’s competition within it for sure, but the end result is really just to have fun.”

That fun was on full display Saturday afternoon as Dexter and Old Town played against each other. Adrianna Siebert from Dexter delighted her teammates, and the entire gym, with an impressive long-range shot for three points. 

The festival is organized each year by a local nonprofit, the Courageous Steps Project, which Old Town High School and Husson University graduate Connor Archer founded several years ago. 

“I started this when I was a sophomore in high school in 2014 through sharing my story as an individual who lives with autism,” Archer explained. 

As part of those efforts, he launched a walk-run that spring. But he wanted to do more, and The Courageous Steps Project became a nonprofit in 2017. Archer said that six schools approached his organization looking to launch the festival as a positive experience based around fun rather than competition. It has since grown to eight teams. 

“It’s a great opportunity for the players, the coaches, the fans, everyone involved — volunteers too — to just have a day of positivity, teamwork, friendship,” Archer said. “And it reminds us all that it’s more than just sports. It’s about building those relationships, it’s about building those connections.” 

Hermon Athletic Director Rick Sinclair called it a great event and credited Archer for making it happen. 

Sumner, the Hermon coach, said his team practices twice a week and has two to three games per week during the season. He said Saturday’s festival was a chance to let the athletes shine.

“It’s a day really about the athletes,” Sumner said. “They come and have really worked hard all season long, and have made a commitment to their school — no different than the kids in all the other interscholastic programs.”

The event also provides a chance to showcase the importance of inclusion, Sumner explained. 

“It gives Hermon High School a chance to kind of show what we do on a regular basis at school. Inclusion is part of what happens in Hermon on a daily basis,” Sumner said. “And we have so many kids that just want to help out, and provide opportunities for learning with their peers at school that don’t get recognized quite as often.”

Senior Carson McCannell is in his first year on the team for Hermon, an experience that he has really enjoyed after a friend’s influence helped get him involved. Saturday’s event meant a lot to him, and he didn’t hesitate when asked if he would recommend unified basketball to others considering it. 

“I would say, ‘Hey, I feel like you should do this. It would be a lot of fun,’” McCannell said. 

Abby Dubois, a junior student partner on the team, has been involved in unified basketball since freshman year. 

“I didn’t really know what I was getting into, but I’m so happy I did,” said Dubois, someone who Sumner described as “very selfless.” 

The festival held on Saturday is something she looks forward to each year.

“We all celebrate. No matter what is happening in your life outside of unified basketball, when we go play, we’re all happy, we’re all cheering, and we’re all hyped to play,” Dubois said.