MONROE, CT — The Unified Sports Program is in its ninth year at Jockey Hollow Middle School. Unified Sports is an inclusive program that unites Special Olympic athletes and partners as teammates for training and competition. The program is led by Jennifer Fisher and Donald Casey Jr.
On Oct. 21, the team traveled to Brookfield High School and competed in a middle school Unified Sports soccer tournament. Since Jockey Hollow has a large team, Fisher and Casey made two squads consisting of athletes and partners. The Lions competed against teams from Brookfield, Danbury and Newtown during four 12-minute games. Each team played great and scored lots of goals.
According to Head Coach Donald Casey Jr., “the athletes and partners were safe throughout, learned a lot, and had a ton of fun! Most importantly, team members were respectful and kind to each other and friends from other schools.”
The tournament concluded with each student receiving snacks and a gold medal.
On Oct. 22, 2025, the Panthers traveled to Newtown and competed in a soccer tournament against Unified Sports teams from Pomperaug, Newtown, and Joel Barlow high schools. Each game was 10 minutes long and the Panthers scored a lot of goals. Our goalies made big, timely saves on shots from opposing athletes.
“We are so proud of every student on our team,” Casey said. “The athletes and partners were safe throughout, learned a lot about inclusion, and had a ton of fun. Most importantly, our team members were unified, respectful and kind to each other and friends from other teams.”
The tournament concluded with a Dance Party, pizza, and each student was awarded a gold medal.
The Masuk Panthers will be traveling to Joel Barlow High School and participating in their second annual Unified Homecoming Dance on Nov. 21.
