How do you make a program all about “inclusion” even more inclusive? The answer might just be wiffle ball. 

The Unified program, sponsored by Special Olympics Colorado, allows students with special needs to compete in various sports and events. Each year, all the Unified teams from all nine high schools in the Douglas County School District (DCSD) compete together in three sports seasons. 

Those three sports have been kickball, basketball and soccer, but this year, wiffle ball was introduced as an alternative to soccer. The season has also been moved from spring to fall, immediately following kickball. Why the change?

“Soccer was the least participated in of all Unified Sports,” DCSD Unified Coordinator Lori Pace said. “It was felt by the majority of coaches that trying wiffle ball would attract higher participation rates. The reason for a double fall season was to have better weather for our athletes. Cold windy days in the spring are hard for many athletes who are not able to safely regulate their body temperature as well as the cold spring weather caused a greater number of game cancellations and/or low turnout to games.”

Unified athlete Mark Larson ‘25 pointed out another benefit to switching seasons. 

“When the weather changes, my asthma attacks me. It bothers me when I [play] soccer,” Larson said. 

So, why wiffle ball?

“Wiffle ball is similar in skill level to kickball. [It is] familiar to most, if not all, students. [It] does not require significant endurance. [It] creates a more equal opportunity for all athletes, versus soccer that truly separates the spectrum of abilities,” Pace said. 

The Jags participated in its first wiffle ball game at Castle View High School, Sept. 27.

“In soccer, not everyone would get a chance to touch the ball. Some kids are so advanced and kick the ball hard, and others won’t get a chance. In wiffle ball, everybody gets a chance to hit the ball,” Unified Head Coach Jerome Price said. 

Unified has six games per sports season. The Unified wiffle ball season finished with a home game on Oct. 12.  For the last game, an invitation was extended to Significant Support Needs (SSN) kids from Rocky Heights Middle School and Timber Trail Elementary School to play, and the athletes from all schools were mixed up to create two teams. 

The purpose of Unified is not to win or lose, but to include, so scores are not usually kept. 

“I loved soccer and I think we had a lot of fun doing it, but I think the change to wiffle ball has been good for us. It has made it more balanced. Before we had kids that could run around and steal the ball, and others that were in wheelchairs or couldn’t walk as well and now they all get more of an equal chance to play. It’s also kind of nice not having to push wheelchairs around bumpy fields forever [while] playing soccer, because that got really tiring,” Assistant Unified Coach JoLynn Duris said. 

Switching sports required some new equipment. 

“We teamed up with Special Olympics, so they [gave] us [money for] uniforms and equipment for wiffle ball,” Price said.  

With so many schools needing to acquire equipment, the schools teamed up.

“A group of the high schools got together to make a bulk order of tees, bats and wiffle balls,” Duris said. “We haven’t gotten our new uniforms yet, but we will get those ordered so we’ll have them for our wiffle ball season next year and all the years after.” 

The wiffle ball season ended, but the overall feeling about the change seems to be positive. 

“It’s just awesome!” Unified athlete Liv Johansen ‘27 said.