Announcer (00:01):
Highlighting the amazing stories from inside the North Clackamas school district. This is the Proud To Be NCSD podcast, hosted by longtime principal and current community relations director, Curtis Long.

Curtis Long (00:18):
It's a part of fandom that comes around every year. Basketball fans know that March is for madness.

TV Announcer (00:24):
There's the pass to Laettner, puts it up...

Curtis Long (00:32):
But there's a unique basketball season within the North Clackamas School District that proves February is for fun. Welcome to Unified Basketball. A sport that brings together student athletes with and without intellectual disabilities and has all the dribbling, all the passing and all the scoring of a high stakes varsity matchup. But it's much less about how many points are on the scoreboard and much more about encouragement.

CHS Student (01:05):
We are down right now, but they're playing so hard and they've grown so much and I'm just really proud of all of them.

Curtis Long (01:09):
Opportunity. Do you ever think you would be wearing a team jersey and playing in basketball games?

RPHS Student (01:14):
Not necessarily because I didn't know about unified basketball

Curtis Long (01:17):
And most of all, inclusion,...

Josh Murray (01:19):
Just hearing t, it was special 'cause these kids haven't got that opportunity. You know, we see it Friday nights during football, we see it during the basketball games, but to see the community kind of come around these kids is, it's really special.

Curtis Long (01:30):
That's Clackamas High unified coach Josh Murray, whose team is playing its first ever game this afternoon in front of a pumped up crowd of students and families from both Clackamas and Rex Putnam High School who made the bus trip over after school to show how some high school hoops can teach us all how to embrace our differences. Today on the Proud To Be NCSD podcast, you can't see the ear to ear grin on a unified athlete's face when their seventh straight shot attempt finally rattles through the rim. But you can feel it and you can't see our district coach's emotional reactions to the way an afternoon on the basketball court in front of encouraging peers changes the lives of students with special needs. But you can hear it.

Brandon Beckwith (02:21):
It's a great way to develop partnership, camaraderie, friendship, respect, uh, and really just learn that we all have our differences. But sports unites us.

Curtis Long (02:29):
It's a heartwarming hoops discussion with two of our district's four unified basketball head coaches, Rex Putnam High's Brandon Beckwith and Clackamas High's Josh Murray. Why are some students saying unified basketball is their favorite athletic event to attend in our district?

CHS Student (02:43):
None of 'em look Upset. Everyone's having a good time

CHS Student (02:46):
No matter how they play or what they're doing. It's just a fun environment to be around.

Curtis Long (02:49):
And why our coaches wouldn't want it any other way.

Josh Murray (02:52):
It was so fun. That was probably the best experience I've had coaching.

Curtis Long (02:55):
The proud To Be NCSD podcast. Tips off right now.

Curtis Long (03:00):
And joining us now within an hour of his team taking the floor for another game is the head coach of the Rex Putnam High School unified team. It's Brandon Beckwith Brandon. Thanks so much for taking time outta your pregame routine to sit down with us.

Brandon Beckwith (03:13):
Thank you Curtis. Happy to be here.

Curtis Long (03:14):
Alright, first off, for the benefit of our listeners, tell us a little bit about your role in the school district and how long you've been a part of Rex Putnam High.

Brandon Beckwith (03:20):
Yeah. I joined Rex Putnam in 2021 as an instructional assistant and we got the unified basketball program up and running that year. Uh, since then, this is our fifth straight season of doing it. And during the 2023 season, we earned the accomplishment of being recognized as a unified champion school, which means that we've raised the level of unified athletics here at Rex Putnam to the same standard as all our other varsity athletic programs.

Curtis Long (03:43):
Now, tell us in your own words, especially for people who have never heard of unified basketball, tell us what it is, how it works.

Brandon Beckwith (03:48):
Unified basketball is a program in which we have students who both experience disabilities and don't experience disabilities playing on the same court together. It's a great way to develop partnership, camaraderie, friendship, respect, and really just learn that we all have our differences, but sports unites us.

Curtis Long (04:03):
What led you to becoming the coach at Rex Putnam and how did that process happen?

Brandon Beckwith (04:06):
Yeah, uh, I was approached in 2021 by our lovely English teacher here, Ms. Mdo. She is our school ambassador for the program and she recognized that it might be a good fit for me and I'm really thankful and grateful that she gave me the opportunity.

Curtis Long (04:18):
Do you have regular practices and how do those work?

Brandon Beckwith (04:20):
We do, we have practices twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday from three 15 to 4 45. We generally start out with some light, uh, warmups, some athletic movements and dynamics, getting that going. And then we work on a specific skill and then we really like to hone in on some game focused, uh, and game oriented drills. Uh, mostly scrimmaging, but sometimes we modify those with, uh, no passing or no dribbling sort of stuff like that. Brandon,

Curtis Long (04:41):
What's the most rewarding part about seeing students from your team who otherwise maybe wouldn't have the opportunity to play high school sport?

Brandon Beckwith (04:47):
Get a chance to compete, seeing the smile on their face when they achieve something that many people might not think is possible. Putting that ball in the basket, making a great pass to their teammate, getting a steal and running down the floor. That's really the highlight of my time as a coach and I just love seeing our students succeed both athletically and uh, out outside of athletics as well. It's just a great way to bring partnership and camaraderie to the whole school.

Curtis Long (05:04):
Now, not only do they get a chance to compete, they get to play in front of a pretty large crowd. It's getting assembled right now and a crowd that gets pretty loud in support of these athletes. How'd that make you feel?

Brandon Beckwith (05:13):
Oh, it's awesome. It's awesome and the athletes love it more than anything else. Um, seeing the smile on their face and just hearing the crowd roar when they hit a big shot is, is worth its weight in gold for sure.

Curtis Long (05:21):
Now, I've seen your team play a few times. They all seem to generally care about each other. They wanna make sure they each succeed. Where do you think all that comes from?

Brandon Beckwith (05:28):
Uh, I think it starts top down just from, uh, our administration and the sort of the temperature and the attitude of the school itself. Um, it's really empowering to step into a program like that and know we have support behind us to make that a possibility.

Curtis Long (05:39):
What do you love most about coaching Unified basketball?

Brandon Beckwith (05:42):
Ooh, uh, all of it. I can't pick one thing. It it is just a great time and if you haven't seen it before, please come out to a game around the district and support our teams.

Curtis Long (05:49):
Alright. We talked about what you love about it. Are there any challenges?

Brandon Beckwith (05:53):
Not having enough games, not having enough time with the players? Uh, I wish I could do it every single day, day. If it paid a million dollars I would, but it doesn't. So, uh, it's just a good reminder to support our programs and keep, keep growing this thing to where we can ensure that we have this for years to come for student athletes.

Curtis Long (06:06):
Alright, Coach Beckwith, good luck in the upcoming game. Thanks for joining us.

Brandon Beckwith (06:08):
I appreciate it.

Curtis Long (06:09):
And a special bonus interview assistant coach Tony Matthews has come out for pre-game warmups to talk to us. Alright how are you guys looking? What's the scouting report on this game today?

Tony Matthews (06:18):
Well, it looks pretty good today. Uh, we already played Newberg before and we came out on top last time, so hopefully that's what happens this time.

Curtis Long (06:26):
Alright, Tony, I see you have the Rex Putnam sweatshirt on. What's your connection to Rex Putnam High?

Tony Matthews (06:31):
I'm a learning specialist here as well.

Curtis Long (06:33):
How long have you been a part of the Unified program?

Tony Matthews (06:36):
Uh, this is my first year in the unified program, but my third year teaching at Putnam.

Curtis Long (06:40):
Now, I would imagine some of the players on this team you see during the school day. What's it like to have 'em out here on the court too?

Tony Matthews (06:47):
It's awesome to see them in the classroom, but then to also see their strengths outside of the classroom and just seeing them as, uh, people and not students.

Curtis Long (06:55):
What's your favorite part about unified basketball?

Tony Matthews (06:58):
Oh, man. Uh, everything about it. I, I just love seeing them also like positive and cheerful and everything about it.

Curtis Long (07:05):
How about the school spirit here at Putnam? As you walk in, you see the cheerleaders are getting warmed up, the band is here, there's music playing, big crowd of students. How's that make you feel, especially for students that you see a lot of times during the day to get that kind of recognition for athletics here at school?

Tony Matthews (07:20):
It's awesome that they're spotlighted in such a way and I love that the student body comes out. Even the baseball team is designated cheer squad for unified.

Curtis Long (07:28):
Oh, so the baseball team's here, all right. They're here ready to root 'em on. Anything else we should know or some of our listeners should know about Unified basketball?

Tony Matthews (07:35):
Unified basketball is for all students, uh, whether they have disabilities or, or not. Um, so anyone can come out and either play or support or just watch.

Curtis Long (07:46):
What's your biggest role here that you gotta get ready for as an assistant coach? How are you helping out?

Tony Matthews (07:51):
Um, I'm just making sure that all the kids are happy and, and everyone is taken care of.

Curtis Long (07:55):
All the kids are happy. That doesn't seem to be too much of a challenge.

Tony Matthews (07:58):
No, no. Yeah, they're all excited to be here.

Curtis Long (08:00):
Alright. Good luck coach. Have fun. And we're excited that you are here hearing about this special program that makes Swish come true for many of our student athletes with special needs across the school district. Before we take a time out, we've heard from one of the benches who took part in that first ever unified basketball battle between Rex Putnam and Clackamas High Schools still to come. We'll check in with Clackamas High coach Josh Murray, who's now had a little time to reflect on his squad's first ever unified game.

Josh Murray (08:27):
In that first game, every one of our kids scored, which was . That that was a goal of mine to, to get every one of those kids to score not only for them but for their parents, for their families,

Curtis Long (08:35):
And a bit later. What are some of the biggest hoop hopes shared by unified athletes?

Rex Putnam Student (08:40):
Having fun and hopefully getting a buzzer beater.

Curtis Long (08:43):
Oh, you wanna make a buzzer beater today? Awesome. As we catch up with some committed kingsmen before they tipped off another game. You make lots of shots in the games.

RPHS Student (08:50):
Yeah. Always shoot that you're always shooting. Yeah, always have that.

Curtis Long (08:53):
Don't miss your shot to catch the second half of this. Nothing but net edition of the Proud To Be NCSD podcast right after this.

Curtis Long (09:03):
Looking for a fun, rewarding career with great pay and benefits? The North Clackamas School District is hiring for the 20 26 27 school year. Join us at our annual NCSD career fair on Wednesday, April 1st from four to 6:30 PM at the Sabin Schellenberg Professional Technical Center South Campus. We're hiring teachers, classroom assistants, before and after school Caretakers, custodians, bus drivers, and more. Meet administrators, explore job opportunities and even interview on the spot. Learn more on our website. N-Clack slash Careers or text fair to 5 0 3 4 4 7 7 7 3 3. That's FAIR to 5 0 3 4 4 7 77 33. We promise it won't take long to see why our employees say they're proud to be in NCSD.

Curtis Long (09:50):
And now our scene shifts from game time to practice time. You heard all the cheers from unified basketball games within our school district, but did you know that just like all the other athletic teams within our district, our unified athletes, well they also have practice. And joining us now right off the practice court of Clackamas High School is the unified basketball coach from Clackamas, Josh Murray and Josh. Thanks so much for spending some time with us here before practice begins.

Josh Murray (10:13):
It's an honor to be here and enjoying practice and here I'm in the background's pretty fun.

Curtis Long (10:17):
So first off, tell us a little bit about your role in the school district and how long you've been a part of Clackamas High.

Josh Murray (10:22):
Uh, I've been around Clackamas for probably eight years. I graduated as a student in 2022. I now work campus security here at Clackamas and, you know, just kind of been Clackamas through and through since I was born, basically. So it's nice to be here.

Curtis Long (10:35):
This is Clackamas High's first season in unified basketball. How did it come together and what drew you to the sideline as the team's first coach?

Josh Murray (10:41):
I've always had a heart for our special education kids. You know, it's often, it seems like they don't really get recognized as, as people for the most part. You know, they've always seen as a, a disability. Like people see their disability and to me that's not how I've seen 'em. I've seen 'em as just like every other kid. They deserve to be able to play a sport and play, play as a team and learn to do that.

Curtis Long (11:03):
And what makes it so special for you being on the sidelines of this first season at Clackamas High?

Josh Murray (11:07):
Uh, I remember when we first, our first basket, uh, just hearing the crowd that we heard, seeing the kids smiles, they're laughing, they're having fun and it's just, it's a good time now.

Curtis Long (11:16):
We hear practices going on behind us. How does practice work for Unified basketball?

Josh Murray (11:21):
It's a little different. I mean, it's a, it's, it's a, it seems a little more chaotic 'cause you know, kids get riled up and it, but it's fun, you know, I mean, we're teaching 'em the basics, how to dribble, you know, you start from start from scratch basically. 'cause most of these kids haven't played a sport. So we're trying to teach 'em just fundamental skills of facial awareness, how their body works and just kind of, you know, make it fun.

Curtis Long (11:43):
I don't think you're running a lot of set plays or set defenses. You're just, uh, working on the fundamentals in there.

Josh Murray (11:48):
Absolutely. That's what we, that's what we try and do. Try and put points up. You know, higher scoring games are fun right now.

Curtis Long (11:53):
Some of the kids who participate with you in the games are, uh, non-special education kids. General education kids. Do they get a chance to practice with you or they just kind of come back during the game?

Josh Murray (12:04):
Oh no, they practice with us. It's a, they're a crucial role into how we run things. You know, they, they're like the coaches on the court. They're helping facilitate, you know, they're, they're getting the rebounds, passing it back to the kids so that we just give 'em more opportunities to score. No, they're, they, they help a lot on the court and that's, that's very important for these kids.

Curtis Long (12:21):
And Josh, I kinda asked you about this ahead of time, but what's the most rewarding part about seeing students from your team who otherwise maybe wouldn't have a chance to play on an organized sport? To see them out on the court and enjoying themselves?

Josh Murray (12:32):
You know, it's just giving them the opportunity. 'cause it, it seems like these kids haven't got that opportunity here at Clackamas for a very long time. It's my understanding Milwaukie Putnam, like they've had programs for a while. Obviously Nelson's had a program for a bit and they're new, but I don't know why we haven't had one here. And it's, it's really nice to see us finally starting one and giving them the opportunity. We sent an email out to all of our SLC parents and you know, we had a parent meeting, you know, I was a little, little worried. We only had one family show up mm-hmm . But we quickly got together with the teacher and she sent emails out and we got interest. I think we have 13 kids on our roster, which is a lot more than I was anticipating for this first year. So it's really nice to just give 'em the opportunity.

Curtis Long (13:16):
Now we heard at the beginning of the podcast your game against Putnam. That's your first game ever on the floor. You mentioned it a little bit earlier about hearing that crowd. What was it like seeing the crowd there and everyone behind your kids as they took the floor out there?

Josh Murray (13:30):
I'll be honest, I didn't really turn around and look, but, you know, just, just hearing it, it was, it was special. 'cause these kids haven't got that opportunity. You know, we see it Friday nights during football, we see it during the basketball games, but to see the community kind of come around these, these kids is, it's really special.

Curtis Long (13:46):
And watching that team play, they seem to really care about each other. They want each other to do well. Where do you think that comes from?

Josh Murray (13:53):
I don't know. I mean, honestly I think like, obviously like they spend all day together in class. So like they're, they're always around each other, you know, by this point I think they would be kind of fed up with each other, but that's not the case at all. Like these, these kids have created a community around this sport and, you know, they're, they're always pushing each other to get each other better.

Curtis Long (14:12):
Alright, Josh, we'll let you go here. I know you're checking your watch, you're checking the practice time. We gotta get through all these drills as we let you go. And you're looking back on this first season, how it's gone so far. What are your best memories so far? And we're still going in this unified season?

Josh Murray (14:25):
Uh, best memory is probably that first basket that we scored. You know, um, in that first game every one of our kids scored, which was . That, that was a goal of mine to, to get every one of those kids to score not only for them but for their parents, for their families, you know, just every day you take it one day at a time and it's just, it, it's so rewarding.

Curtis Long (14:42):
Alright, we'll let you get back to the practice floor. Anything you wanna make sure you mention that we haven't talked about yet?

Josh Murray (14:46):
I know March 2nd, we play Nelson here at two 30 we're gonna open it up to students and staff to bring their classrooms down and hopefully create a really nice environment for these kids.

Curtis Long (14:56):
Yeah. How exciting will that be? They, they move the game to during school time so kids can come down to the gym and route their team on.

Josh Murray (15:02):
Oh yeah. I've been trying to promote it a little bit here and there. Uh, talking to teachers, you know, teachers are asking like, all right, what day is it? When is it okay? Can I, you know, try and work my schedule around it? So, and that's, uh, again, the community, these kids, you know, getting their peers to see them participate and play a sport is, is amazing.

Curtis Long (15:19):
And how much fun is it to see kids from around our district now all four teams have a team. You mentioned playing Nelson, you've played Putnam already. You've got Milwaukie coming up. So these kids get to see players just like them out on the floor.

Josh Murray (15:31):
Yeah, it's really cool just to see the unified community come together.

Curtis Long (15:34):
Alright, we'll let you get back to practice. Thanks so much for joining us.

Josh Murray (15:36):
Thanks Curtis.

Curtis Long (15:37):
Well, now that we've heard from several unified coaches, the game clock is quickly running out on this edition of the Proud To Be NCSD podcast. But before the final buzzer, we wanted to hear from a couple of student athletes themselves about whether unified basketball has made a positive impact on their lives. Well, that's a slam dunk. y

Elliot - RPHS Senior (15:55):
My name is Elliot. I'm in 12th grade.

Curtis Long (15:57):
Did you ever think you would be wearing a team jersey and playing in basketball games?

Elliott - RPHS (16:00):
Not necessarily because I didn't know about unified basketball when, when I first joined this, uh, high school.

Curtis Long (16:07):
What's your favorite thing about being on this unified team?

Elliott - RPHS (16:09):
H Having fun and, um, hopefully getting a buzzer beater.

Curtis Long (16:14):
You wanna make a buzzer beater today? Awesome. What makes the playing in these basketball games so special for you?

Elliott - RPHS (16:20):
Just the place where I can have fun and meet new people, I guess.

Curtis Long (16:24):
Now when you're out on the basketball floor, what are your best skills? What do you bring to the team?

Elliott - RPHS (16:27):
I'm good at defense.

Curtis Long (16:29):
Oh, so you're a defensive player. Okay. Okay. How's it make you feel when you have all these people here to cheer you on? Especially when you make a big basket, the crowd goes wild.

Elliott - RPHS (16:37):
Ha. Having, having that the home energy is, is really good. Any support is great. When different programs where people come to watch us play.

Curtis Long (16:46):
What are some of your favorite things to do besides playing basketball?

Elliott - RPHS (16:49):
Some things I like to do other than basketball are soccer, chess, and bowling.

Curtis Long (16:54):
All right. Get back in there. Have a good game. Good job. Elliott.

Ethan - RPHS Senior (16:57):
My name is Ethan.

Curtis Long (16:58):
Ethan, when you came to high school, did you ever think you'd be wearing a basketball jersey and playing in basketball games? Uh,

Ethan - RPHS Senior (17:04):
I guess I did. Yes.

Curtis Long (17:05):
You did think so. What makes playing in these games so special for you?

Ethan - RPHS Senior (17:09):
Uh, it is the best time ever.

Curtis Long (17:10):
What do you think you're really good at when you're out on the court?

Ethan - RPHS Senior (17:13):
Out court passing or shooting?

Curtis Long (17:17):
Do you make lots of shots in the games?

Ethan - RPHS Senior (17:19):
Yeah, always do that.

Curtis Long (17:20):
You're always shooting?

Ethan - RPHS Senior (17:21):
Yeah, always. I start passing too.

Curtis Long (17:25):
And passing too. How's it make you feel when you've got a big crowd here and the cheerleaders are here and they're all cheering for you guys out on the floor?

Ethan - RPHS Senior (17:31):
Oh yeah, we will win the game a lot.

Curtis Long (17:32):
What are some of your favorite things to do besides basketball?

Ethan - RPHS Senior (17:35):
I'm not sure what's next yet.

Curtis Long (17:37):
You're not sure what's next yet? All right. Anything else you think people should know about you?

Ethan - RPHS Senior (17:41):
I guess we're good. Thank you.

Curtis Long (17:42):
Have a great game in there. We look forward to seeing you.

Curtis Long (17:44):
Interested in attending a unified basketball game at either Milwaukie, Putnam, Clackamas or Nelson High Schools? Most have their schedules posted on the school websites or feel free to call the school's athletic offices directly. Thanks for listening to the Proud To Be NCSD podcast in North Clackamas. We know that education is a community effort and we're so thankful that you and your family are a part of our community. Until next time, remember, there are always great things to see wherever you go in NCSD.