The Glenbrook United White volleyball team took home the gold medal from the state volleyball competition  Oct. 30 in Rockford.

Glenbrook United is the district’s Special Olympics program. Players are GBN, GBS, transition and off-campus students.

According to Megan Williams, special education teacher and coach of the Glenbrook United Gold team, the  White team advanced to the state meet by defeating John Hersey High School’s team for the division championship.

The Glenbrook United program started last year, but Williams said this is the first time they’ve played  volleyball competitively.

According to Karmesha White,  Glenbrook United team member, the team has more kids involved this year than last year.

“Having a year [of] experience makes everything go better,” Craig Ameel, sponsor of the Special Olympics program at Hersey, said. “The athletes know the expectations.”

According to Williams, the team started practicing in July in the GBS gym, and they began learning basic skills and rules of volleyball. Players were then separated into two teams, White and Gold, based on their individual ability.

“[The players] love it; it gives them an opportunity regardless of their ability to be a part of a team,” Pa’al Joshi, coach of Glenbrook United White team, said.

Once school began, the teams had weekly practices at the Northbrook YMCA and Hersey, according to Mady Halamaj, Glenbrook United White team member.

Joshi said Hersey and Palatine’s teams often practiced at the same time as Glenbrook United, so the teams would end up scrimmaging.

Glenbrook United has help from other programs within District 225. The GBN girls’ volleyball team and peer mentors have both helped out at some of the practices.

“A big part of [helping out] is […] when the team is sitting out on the sideline, just being myself and having fun with all the athletes by talking with them or hitting the volleyball back and forth,” sophomore Ethan Lutz, GBN peer mentor, said.

Joshi drove the team for 3.5 hours in one of the athletic buses to the tournament, which he said was a great team-building experience.

The White team was losing 10-3 at the start of the second game, but they increased their score in the middle of the game to 17-8. Williams said Glenbrook United fought for a comeback and won.

According to Williams, Glenbrook United offers students opportunities they otherwise wouldn’t have.

“Whenever I saw a sports team[…]I was just in the audience,” senior Daniel Raviv said. “If I ever marched [as a] part of the sports team it was [with Glenbrook United].”

Now that volleyball season is over, the Glenbrook United program has transitioned into basketball.

According to the District 225 website, the girls Glenbrook United Gold basketball team competed in a holiday tournament Dec. 4 at Hersey. With a minute left in the  team’s second game, they broke a tie, winning the game 38-34.

The Glenbrook United team is currently preparing for the district tournament in January.