Bay Shore student athletes, in sneakers gifted by alumnus, kick off Unified Basketball season 

A Bay Shore school district alumnus gifted new sneakers to every player on the high school’s first Unified basketball team, a program focused on including kids with special needs who may not otherwise have an opportunity to compete in school sports.

“[The Unified basketball team] is just a program that makes me really proud to be from Bay Shore,” said Joe La Puma, who worked with the nonprofit JD Finish Line Foundation to secure the sneakers.

The team formed on April 1. Its coed roster consists of nine athletes with special needs and 13 neurotypical “partners” who assist the athletes on the court, according to head coach and special education teacher Michelle Houlihan. She said the program allows her students to “feel they’re a part of something that’s part of the bigger picture.”

The team plays against eight other Unified teams from nearby school districts, all of which play an eight-game season this spring, according to Bay Shore school district spokesperson Krystyna Baumgartner.

“It’s hard to put into words what it means [for the students]," Houlihan said of the program. "They feel like they’re actually able to work toward something and they feel like they’re improving and fostering different relationships. It's bringing out the best in our students.”

'It was a celebration'

The night before the Unified team’s first game, players arrived at a school theater to find a stack of shoe boxes with their names on them. Inside were brand new, team-colored Nike LeBron NXXT Genisus basketball shoes for all 22 players and the team’s coaches.

“I couldn’t believe that I got the shoes,” said student Michael Powell, one of the Unified team athletes.

Bay Shore athletic director Christopher Agostino said “it was like a party in that theater. The kids were so excited. … We had all of the kids there, all of their families there and it was a celebration.”

La Puma was behind the big surprise. He hosts a YouTube show called "Sneaker Shopping" for the media outlet Complex, in which he interviews celebrities — ranging from Jimmy Fallon to Tom Brady — while shopping for shoes.

It marked the fourth time La Puma has donated sneakers to his alma mater, according to the school district.

This time around, he said he was inspired by a conversation he had with Unified basketball team athlete Idris McLeod during a school awards event in April.

“When I left that morning, something came over me. … [The Unified team] was a very important thing for me to get involved with,” he said. “These kids and this program and these coaches and this team will just brighten up your day.”

The sneakers retail for around $160, La Puma said.

A community giving back

Other Bay Shore natives also have rallied behind the Unified basketball program. Residents have donated “shooting shirts” and covered the team’s senior day dinner, according to Houlihan, who said “the giveback from the community has been great.”

The coach added the Bay Shore High School student body, too, has come out in droves to support the Unified basketball team since they took the court for the first time in their new sneakers on May 7.

“We had two games when there wasn’t a seat in the stands that you could find,” Houlihan said. “I feel like our kids have the best time now … they are definitely feeling the love and the support."

Bay Shore senior Carter Wilson, who plays on the school’s varsity basketball team and also serves as a partner on the Unified team, said his time helping out with the new program is “something I’ll never forget.”

“Just seeing [the athletes] in the hallways, having the interactions, the high-fives, the laughs … It’s definitely been an experience I’m going to remember for the rest of my life,” Wilson said.

By Sam Kmack

sam.kmack@newsday.com

Sam Kmack covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and previously worked as a city watchdog reporter in the Phoenix metro area, as well as an investigative journalist at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.