Washington High hosts inaugural Mid-Illini Unified PE Field Day – Peoria Journal Star
WASHINGTON — Mitch Coughlon is the reigning Journal Star boys soccer player of the year.
But on Wednesday the Washington high school multi-sport athlete stood on Babcook Field, clad in his football jersey, holding a hoop while high school-aged kids with disabilities threw or kicked footballs through it.
“It’s about participation,” Coughlon said. “I love sports, love being part of teams and competing. This day is about giving that chance to these kids, too, and I just love seeing it.
“Their happiness is our joy.”
Coughlon was among 30 Washington student-athletes from across multiple sports — football, baseball, soccer, volleyball and more — who were nominated by their varsity coaches to man the game stations set up on Babcook Field for 200 Unified PE students and their “peer buddies” from around the Mid-Illini Conference.
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Unified PE programs are established at Washington, Limestone (one of the first, and best), Canton, Pekin, East Peoria, Morton, Metamora and Dunlap high schools.
But Wednesday was an inaugural event, marking the first time all those schools (excepting East Peoria, which had a prior commitment) came together to host a field day at one site.
“So far, so good,” said event director Kara Kamienski, who teaches the Unified PE class at Washington. “It’s meant to be a day of inclusionary fun. In the fall, the Mid-Illini hosts a coaches conference and we sat down together and talked about what we could do to really increase the opportunities for these students, find them more participation opportunities within the M-I instead of individual schools going outside of it.
“That’s how this conference-wide event was born. We’re planning to do more, too, like a kickball tournament in the spring.
“I don’t think we could have done this without our student leaders. They are incredibly passionate about opportunities and inclusion and they did the planning, gathered the material for the games, all of it.”
Behind the curtain
Six Washington seniors were the driving force behind Wednesday’s inaugural event. They included Cameron Donald (track), Jori Dowling (volleyball), Sophie Kamienski (cheerleading), Taryn Chave (band), Jacob Ray (military programs) and Kolten Harn (Gay-Straight Alliance club leadership).
“Making these kids feel included in what we all do, it’s the greatest feeling,” Donald said. “We got out a spreadsheet and figured out what we were going to need, how everything had to be timed and set up.
“When you do things like this, you also reflect on your own path. I want to go to college, maybe major in film or computer science, I’m not sure yet.
“But I want to be someone.”
So do his student colleagues, who shared a passion for connecting with students with disabilities on Wednesday.
“I want to go into special education,” said Sophie Kamienski. “Being involved in this Unified PE program has been terrific. The relationships we form with these kids are so rewarding.”
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Dowling, a senior on the varsity volleyball team, moved with her family from Bradley-Bourbonnais to Washington and has been around programs like this nearly her whole life.
“I’ve been working with students with disabilities since third grade,” she said. “I love being with these kids. These are important relationships we’re building, the kids will remember it forever and so will we.
“Just seeing how happy they are today is everything.”
‘I hope I remember this forever’
They bounded around the field, alternating stations with frisbee tosses, soccer balls and mini-goals, cornhole boards, volleyball matches using beach balls, and more.
“I think it’s more a chance to get out and do something,” said Pekin freshman student Lilly Williams, who was one of 39 Pekin kids with disabilities on the field Wednesday. “I think all of this is pretty cool.”
Washington Unified PE student Kaleb Bonds loves all things Chicago Bears, and his baseball choice is the Peoria Chiefs. But on Wednesday, he said his favorite field event was tossing footballs through a hoop held by Panthers soccer star and football team kicker Coughlon.
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“They made the world a better place for us today,” Bonds said. “I hope everyone gets to try this.”
They took a break for lunch, team relay races, and a feel-good dance party. Then the inaugural Mid-Illini Conference Unified PE Field Day Games was in the books.
“It was fun, I liked kicking the soccer balls into the net,” said Levi Hinds, a senior in Canton’s Unified PE program. “I have problems with my memory, so I don’t always remember things for very long.
“But I hope I remember this forever.”
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.