Hi, my name is Lindsay and I’m a Think College student and I was the captain of the Think College intramural basketball team. I wanted us to have a basketball team because I am a Special Olympics athlete and play basketball and I wanted a way to be able to play basketball at UVM. Our team did not win any games but we had a lot of fun. I think we’re the first team comprised mostly of people with disabilities to ever exist in an intramural sport at UVM. Each week we played a different team. We had two 20 minute halves.
Some things we worked on were getting better at passing the ball and standing under the net when the other team was shooting to try to retrieve the ball if they missed. We had a great time and I believe every member of the team scored at least one basket. Jack, who is the Think College mentor was very helpful by being on the court a lot. Before each game, we would talk about our strategy and what we wanted to work on. There can only be five players on the court and no more than three of the same gender at a time so we would sub people in and out. One game we were only three points away from winning, and that was probably a highlight for me! I appreciated the campus rec would turn down the music when we requested it because I have sound sensitivity as part of my autism.
The teams definitely did not go easy on us. Overall, it was a very fun experience and I cannot wait for the next season! I hope Think College and campus rec can continue to partner and I really appreciated that Tom made sign-up easier for us by reserving spots and signing us up. These kinds of accommodations make sports accessible more for UVM students.