Jordyn Griffith is traditional athlete. She started her Freshman year with volleyball, which she plays for EHS TSSAA team as well. She want the special needs athletes to get better at volleyball. She has helped them learn how to serve, hit, set, and pass. Since her sophomore year, she has help with all the sports including Winter Games (skiing, snowboarding, and speed skating). Jordyn Griffith was this years co Unified Athlete of the year for Area 4.
photo by Contributed
Brighton Ralls, bottom, is the other co Unified Athlete of the year for Area 4. Brighton loved playing volleyball with Total Destruction. She also help coach the athletes with art of playing like Jordyn. While volleyball is her sport of choice, she too helps with other events like Winter Games. Brighton spends a lot of time helping the special needs athletes at school as well by being in the Buddy club.
photo by Contributed
Allison Giles is new to the Unified program, but she jumped in feet first. After helping secure the 7th straight Area 4 Regional Volleyball tournament, Allison joined the East Hamilton Unified Track team, which won Sectionals and competed at the TSSAA Unified State Championshipa. She was looking forward to Summer Games and the Upcoming Unified Track Season.
photo by Contributed
Ryan Black is a Special Needs Athlete. He played every sport. He was on the team that won the Unified State Basketball Tournament at Lipscomb University last March. He has been on the last three volleyball teams with Jordyn and Brighton. They all have been so close every year, but Ryan was telling everyone they were going to win gold this year. Ryan has won gold in basketball, flag football, bowling, bocce ball, and Track & field.
photo by Contributed
Trevor Belcher is a Special Needs Athlete. He played every sport. He was on the team that won the Unified State Basketball Tournament at Lipscomb University last March. He has been on the last three volleyball teams with Jordyn and Brighton. Trevor had become one of the most Rock Solid members on the team. The other members on the team with call on him when they needed a point. Trevor has won gold in basketball, flag football, bowling, bocce ball, and Track & Field.
photo by Contributed
(UPDATED WITH PHOTOS) While the loss of the spring sports season has certainly been heart-breaking for senior athletes, arguably the greatest loss was this year’s Special Olympics Summer Games. The state’s games, which were set to happen this week in Nashville, are now taking place virtually each afternoon at 5:00 local time. These virtual games include an opening ceremony, daily fitness challenges, and various trainings presented by sponsors from around the state.
According to Tennessee’s Special Olympics Vice President of Marketing and Development Amy Parker, the loss of the games hits home very deeply with many of the athletes because this is often the highlight of their year.
Parker described one athlete who has his bags packed weeks in advance in preparation for the event.
While the effect that the loss of the event has had on the participants is the most devastating, Parker said the financial loss has also been difficult. The summer games provide a significant source of the organization’s funding, and many of its primary fundraisers have also been canceled, creating even more financial strain. And while the statewide sponsors of the Special Olympics have obviously been understanding of the fact that the games will look different with less advertising exposure than in typical years, many of those businesses are also facing financial stress of their own.
Locally, the loss of the games hits home at schools like East Hamilton, where they not only have students that participate, but they do so as a Unified Champion School. That means that their teams have special needs athletes who pair up with “traditional” athletes. These teams compete at the highest levels in flag football, volleyball, bowling, bocce ball, and basketball. The Hurricanes also take a full unified team to the TSSAA state track meet at the Spring Fling in one of a handful of unified sports officially sanctioned by the state’s organization.
The Hurricanes have four seniors who have never lost the Area 4 volleyball regional tournament including this year, and they have finished each year in the final four of the Tennessee Special Olympic Summer Games. Seniors Ryan Black, Trevor Belcher, Jordyn Griffith, and Brighton Ralls are all members of East Hamilton’s Total Destruction. They have recruited others to join, which includes fellow senior Allison Giles, and were especially excited because this team was loaded and ready to bring home the gold.
Ryan Black
Black plays every sport for the Hurricane's unified team, and was a part of the basketball team that won the unified state tournament at Lipscomb University last March. He has been on the past three volleyball teams with Belcher, Griffith, and Ralls that have been so close to winning each year. Black was telling everyone that they were going to win gold this year.
He has also won gold in basketball, flag football, bowling, bocce ball, and track and field.
Trevor Belcher
Like Black, Belcher also plays every sport and played on the basketball team that won the unified state tournament a couple of months ago. He has become one of the most rock-solid members of the volleyball team, and the other members of the squad would call on him when they needed a point.
He has also won gold in basketball, flag football, bowling, bocce ball, and track and field.
Allison Giles
Giles is relatively new to the unified program, but she jumped in feet first. After helping to secure the seventh straight Area 4 regional volleyball tournament championship, she joined the unified track team, which won the sectionals and competed at last year's TSSAA unified state championships. She was looking forward to this year's Summer Games and the unified track season.
Jordyn Griffith
Griffith began playing with the unified volleyball team as a traditional athlete during her freshman year, and she also plays on the girls' volleyball team for the Lady Hurricanes. Since her sophomore year, she has helped with all of the unified sports, including the Winter Games in skiing, snowboarding, and speed skating.
Griffith works hard to help the special needs athletes get better at volleyball, helping them learn how to serve, hit, set, and pass. She was named the co-Unified Athlete of the Year for Area 4 this season.
Brighton Ralls
Ralls joined Griffith with the co-Unified Athlete of the Year honors for Area 4. She loves playing volleyball with Total Destruction, helping to coach the athletes in the art of playing the game.
While volleyball is her sport of choice, she also helps with all of the other events like the Winter Games. She spends a lot of time helping the special needs athletes at school as well by being in the Buddy Club.
The Chattanoogan Senior Spotlight series highlights local prep seniors whose seasons have been canceled due to the unprecedented situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are associated with a high school spring sports team and would like your seniors featured, please encourage the coach to reach out to me at kevin.llewallyn@gmail.com. Also, share this article and others like it from this series on social media using #ChattanooganSeniorSpotlight.