Kickball Game Unites Athletes In Brick Schools

BRICK, NJ — They planned for months. They met. They practiced. They got to know each other.

And on June 16, the Brick Township Schools' Unified Sports program held a kickball game that brought together athletes from across the district and across the spectrum of abilities.

The program, which the Brick Schools added this year with the assistance of Special Olympics of New Jersey, joins student-athletes with and without intellectual and/or physical disabilities on the same team.

"Our programs were inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding," the district said in a news release.

Unified Sports squads were created at Brick Memorial and at Brick Township High School, and the months of practice culminated in the kickball game.

Superintendent Thomas Farrell called the game, which had hundreds of people in attendance at the Veterans Memorial sports complex, a huge success.

"The turnout, excitement, and intense competition with sportsmanship by all made for an amazing evening," he said. "Every moment was pure magic!”

The inaugural Unified Sports teams shared their appreciation for the support of the Brick Township Board of Education, Farrell, Susan McNamara, the district's director of planning, research and evaluation, and the entire Central Administrative team "for their efforts in supporting our district initiative to afford the opportunity to our athletes and partners."

"Thank you to Brick Memorial Athletic Director Ed Sarluca, Coaches Nicole Pannucci, Maria Lupo and Jessica Jablonski, and to Brick Township Coaches Darla Novick and Rob Dahl, among countless aides and staff members who assisted along the way," the group said.

See highlights of the evening captured in a video produced by Visiontech, a yearbook and highlights company led by Joey DeAngelo, a Brick Township graduate: