The district launched its first-ever Unified Bowling team, finishing the inaugural season undefeated at 8-0.
This winter, Troy High School made history — and did it with a perfect record.
The district launched its first-ever Unified Bowling team, finishing the inaugural season undefeated at 8-0. The team is part of Unified Sports, a Special Olympics program that brings together students with and without developmental disabilities to compete as teammates, and more importantly, as friends.
A Program Built on Inclusion
In Unified Bowling, students with developmental disabilities compete as “athletes,” paired with “partners” (teammates without disabilities), whose scores are combined during competition. The format puts participation at the center of every match.
“In Unified Bowling, everyone bowls,” said head coach Don Poutre, who has led Troy High’s Varsity Bowling program for nearly two decades. “We try to give every Unified bowler a chance to participate in every match.”
The program emphasizes inclusion, teamwork, and connection, and those values showed up in the stands, on the lanes, and in the relationships students built throughout the season.
How It Started
Troy’s Unified journey began last spring at Troy Middle School, when a school counselor proposed launching Unified Physical Education after seeing the program’s impact firsthand through her daughter’s experience as a Unified partner. After connecting with Leigh Howard, program director for Unified Sports, and visiting a nearby school with an established program, Troy Middle School launched Unified PE this school year. The momentum was immediate.
Seeing that success, Deputy Superintendent Roy Stiles began exploring ways to bring Unified Sports to the high school level. Working with Assistant Director of Pupil Personnel Services Samantha Brewer, Director of Athletics Paul Reinisch and Assistant Superintendent for Business Adam Hotaling, the team secured Board of Education approval for Unified Bowling.
“We arranged a meeting with Leigh Howard and began looking at how we could get Unified Sports started here,” Brewer said. “With the support of Mr. Stiles, Mr. Reinisch and Mr. Hotaling, we were able to get it approved by the Board of Education.”
Poutre was the natural choice to lead the new team.
“I’ve had the idea for starting a Unified Bowling team for a while,” Poutre said. “When they approached me this year, I was thrilled.”
The district launched its first-ever Unified Bowling team, finishing the inaugural season undefeated at 8-0.
Making It Work
Running a Unified team requires more than enthusiasm. A typical match includes up to 12 bowling spots, with each athlete-partner pair rotating through practice and match lanes. Early in the season, managing those rotations took adjustment.
“It can get a little confusing when we start pulling bowlers from practice lanes to match lanes,” Poutre said. “The first few matches were a challenge, but the team got used to it.”
The partners, many of them upperclassmen with packed schedules, showed up every match.
“These students not only bowl with our Unified athletes, they also help keep the matches running smoothly,” Poutre said. “They encourage the bowlers, help make sure everyone is safe, and make sure everyone is having fun. I’m really proud of our partners. They showed great character and put in a lot of time to help this team.”
The Part That Matters Most
For coaches and staff, the perfect record was meaningful, but it wasn’t the highlight of the season.
“It was so much fun to see these bowlers smiling and enjoying being part of a team,” Poutre said. “They were excited every match. When you have bowlers who are that eager, that energy is contagious.”
That energy is exactly what the district hopes to build on. The Unified Bowling team’s 8-0 season is not just an exciting start, but rather it’s a foundation for a more inclusive school community, where every student has a place to belong and a team to call their own.
The district launched its first-ever Unified Bowling team, finishing the inaugural season undefeated at 8-0.
This work will continue in the spring season, with the formation of a Unified Basketball team, something Athletic Director Paul Reinisch says will keep the momentum of such a positive program moving forward.
“We could not be more excited about adding Unified Bowling, and shortly, Unified Basketball,” said Reinisch. “Our student athletes are quickly learning that we are looking forward to all of them having the opportunity to make new friends, compete against some neighboring schools, and have an experience that will only enhance their time at Troy High. This is going to be a lot of fun!”