-The Unified high school basketball season begins this week in Vermont, and the Brattleboro Bears hope to be once again in the thick of the postseason.
Unified basketball is an all gender-inclusive program that pairs athletes who may have disabilities with partners who do not have disabilities. At any given time, there are three athletes on the floor with two partners. According to Vermont rules, the partners are not allowed to shoot the ball, leaving all the scoring opportunities for the athletes.
Brattleboro, the 2024 state champs, went undefeated in the 2025 season but were knocked out of the playoffs with a 42-20 loss to Burr & Burton in the quarterfinals.
The Bears will begin the 2026 season in Bennington on April 1 against Mount Anthony and travel to Rutland on April 7 before playing their home opener against Twin Valley on Monday, April 9, at 2:15 p.m.
Tyler Boone, who returns as head coach, said it was very difficult to lose Austin Pinette and Jeffery White, the Bears’ mainstays over the past couple of seasons, “but we have a crop of ninth and 10th graders that have size, athleticism, and energy that comes close to matching those two.”
Boone said that “overall, with this young group of students, I hope they can learn how to be on a team, support each other no matter what. and accept the good and the bad that will inevitably happen during the season.”
The Vermont Principals’ Association introduced some new rules for Unified basketball for the 2026 season —partners will not be able to go inside the three-point line and each athlete has to play each quarter with a maximum playing time of half the game.
“This will mean the best team will win the games and championships rather than having one singular dominant player,” said Boone.
Also, each team will be given the option of either a traditional bracketed playoff experience or a Jamboree at Hartford High School, which is a less competitive one-day event.
“Our athletes and partners made the decision for the playoff experience, with no input from coaches,” Boone said. “I am so proud of them for having the discussion, including disagreeing with each other, and coming together to reach a consensus.That is a life lesson that will translate beyond the court.”
The Brattleboro roster for 2026, as of last week, is as follows: Tyson LaFarr, Tristen Leland, Julius Sobieski, Nate Feindel, Leyanna Clark, Alto Purdy, Nate Feindel, Maiha Williamson, Mia Braun, Jack Webster-Rose, Ashley Cleveland, Darius Cansler-Cooper, Andrew Chinn, Jaymeson Crochetiere, Malia-Raisa Crochetiere, Alexx Labounty, Mason Andrews, and Matt Arlen.
Spring training begins for local athletes
• Pitchers and catchers began workouts March 23 in the first stirrings of the spring high school baseball season in Vermont. Full team practices for all sports began this week.
The fields are still drying out from a very hard winter, so indoor practices for baseball and softball will have to suffice for now. For many teams around the state, the first game of the season will likely be their first chance to get outside.
As the players get ready for the spring season, let’s look ahead to opening day at our local schools. Of course, all these dates and times are contingent on the fickleness of Vermont weather.
• In baseball, Brattleboro opens at home against Mount Anthony on Tuesday, April 14, at 5 p.m., with the highlight that day being the grand opening of the refurbished Tenney Field grandstand. Rutland will visit Tenney Field later in the week, on Friday, April 17, for a 5 p.m. game.
Bellows Falls opens their season at Otter Valley on April 14, and plays their home opener at Hadley Field against Fair Haven on April 17 at 4:30 p.m.
Leland & Gray starts the season with three straight home games. They will host White River Valley on April 14, Mount St. Joseph on April 17, and West Rutland on April 23.
Twin Valley opens their season on Monday, April 13, at Arlington, and heads to Rutland to face Mount St. Joseph on April 15, before the home opener on April 27 against Poultney at Baker Field in Wilmington.
• Brattleboro also opens the softball season at home, with games against Mount Anthony on April 14 and Rutland on April 17 at Sawyer Field. Both games start at 5 p.m. Bellows Falls opens their season at Otter Valley on April 14 and will play their home opener on April 15, at 4:30 p.m., against White River Valley.
Leland & Gray starts the season with three straight home games. They will host White River Valley on April 14, Mill River on April 17, and West Rutland on April 23. At press time, no schedule was available for Twin Valley.
• Lacrosse begins April 14 as the Brattleboro boys play the first of three road games in Bennington against Mount Anthony, followed by games in Northampton, Massachusetts, on April 17, and Rutland on April 28. The Bears’ first home game is Thursday, April 30, at 6:30 p.m., against Stratton Mountain School at Natowich Field.The Brattleboro girls open their season with five straight road games — at Mount Anthony on April 15, Hartford on April 25, Burr & Burton on April 28, Rutland on May 1, and Woodstock on May 5. The Bears won’t play before a home crowd until Tuesday, May 5, at 6:30 p.m., when they host Mount Anthony.
• Ultimate Disc begins April 15 as Brattleboro hosts Burr & Burton at Natowich Field for a 4:15 p.m. match, and travels to Townshend to play Leland & Gray on Saturday, April 18, at 11 a.m.
• Brattleboro track & field has its first home meet on Wednesday, April 29, at 4 p.m., on the Freeman Track. Bellows Falls starts its season at Hadley Field on April 14 at 4 p.m.
• In tennis, the Brattleboro boys open the season in Bennington on April 14 against Mount Anthony, while the Brattleboro girls open their season on April 13 at Rutland and host Mount St. Joseph on April 15 at the BUHS courts. The Bellows Falls girls open the season April 14 at St. Johnsbury before hosting Woodstock on April 16 and Brattleboro on April 18 for 4:30 p.m. matches at the Hadley Field courts.
Start spring with a bike ride
• BCAT (Brattleboro Community for Active Transportation) offers the first in a series of monthly social community bicycle rides. Cyclists will meet in the Harmony Parking Lot at 5 p.m. on Monday April 6, for a 4-mile group ride, caravan style. They envision this as a family friendly event, with traditional bicycles, e-bikes, cargo bikes, and other one-, two-, or three-wheel (mostly) self-propelled contraptions.
“We will meet after the ride at The Works for socializing and a brief introduction to the work of BCAT,” wrote organizers in a news release. “We hope to build community among local cyclists and aspiring cyclists, and share the work BCAT does in advocating for improved infrastructure for pedestrian and bicycle safety.” For more information, contact bcat-bratt@googlegroups.com.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 12 of the winter/spring season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on March 26 saw Bad Boys (38-22) remain in first place and Lucky 7 (35-25) have a 5-0 week to move into second. Wayne’s World (34-26) slid back into third place, followed by Candy Men (30-30), Serious (29.5-30.5), Strikers and Bowling Stones (both 28-32), Three Strikes (26.5-33.5), Slo Movers (26-34), and Spare Time (25-35).
Nancy Dalzell had the women’s high handicap game (234) and Diane Cooke had the high handicap series (652). Rick Westcott had the men’s high handicap game (256) and series (754). Spare Time had the high team handicap game (889) and Candy Men had the high handicap series (2,535).
Warren Corriveau Sr. had the men’s high scratch series (729) with games of 264, 234, and 231, while Peter Deyo had a 647 series with games of 233 and 225. Milt Sherman had a 629 series with games of 245 and 207, and Westcott had a 628 series with games of 226, 211, and 191. John Walker had a 586 series with games of 214 and 210, Robert Rigby had a 521 series with a 204 game, and Kevin Napaver had a 269 game.
Cooke had the women’s high scratch series (475) and game (189), as well as games of 168 and 164. Dalzell had a 178 game and Deb Kolpa rolled a 171.
Randolph T. Holhut, deputy editor of this newspaper, has written this column since 2010 and has covered sports in Windham County since the 1980s. Readers can send him sports information at news@commonsnews.org.
This Sports column by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.