Basketball Players Feel Impact of Special Team Member (South Bend Tribune)

The Saint Mary's basketball team poses with honorary team member
Bryanna Sikora, in the center.By Sarah Miesle

There are plenty of middle school girls who dream of being part a collegiate basketball team one day. For one 10-year-old New Carlisle girl, that dream came true early thanks to an organization called Team IMPACT. The national non-profit improves the quality of life for children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses by matching the kids with local college athletic teams. According to its website, the organization has matched 560 children to about 300 schools in 37 states.

Last fall, Team IMPACT linked Saint Mary’s College basketball team to Bryanna Sikora. After a series of phone calls and emails ensured that both the team and the newest addition to the program were a match for one another, the gears were put in motion for Bryanna to join the Belles.

Bryanna was born drug exposed due to her birth mother's substance abuse during pregnancy. As a result, she suffered from amniotic band syndrome, which occurs when amniotic bands wrap around the fetus resulting in development problems. Additionally, Bryanna has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus, cerebral palsy, and arthogryposis. She has needed a tracheotomy (trach) tube to breathe, has a feeding tube, and communicates through sign language and a communication device.

“Team IMPACT has given us a broader sense of our responsibility through sport,” said head basketball coach Jenn Henley. “We have the opportunity to be involved in Bryanna's life in a way that can give her and her family a small amount of joy and happiness. Talk about impact! All coaches hope that their athletes can take away lifelong lessons as a result of being on a team. Team IMPACT has certainly done that for the Belles.”

In December, the team officially added Bryanna to the squad. They recognized her prior to the start of the Belles’ home game on December 3 and gave her a jersey as well as several other Saint Mary’s basketball items. She was also listed on the game day program as No. 1 for the team.

“For her to be able to be a part of this is a big deal,” said her adoptive mother Cindy Sikora in an interview with WSBT on her draft day. “When you have a child that’s going through this there are going to be moments they are left out and it’s heartbreaking. When you have an opportunity come along like this it’s wonderful because she feels a part of the team and they make her be a part of the team.”

Bryanna comes to almost every home game at Saint Mary’s, sitting right behind the team so she can feel like she's in on the action. There are also team-building events with her each month. Recently they made a fleece blanket together, colored, danced, and played with a plastic bowling set. 

For more information about Team IMPACT, visit www.goteamimpact.org.

This article appeared in the South Bend Tribune as an article in the Beyond the Campus series on February 1, 2015 as an example of the impact local colleges and universities have on the South Bend community. Sarah Miesle is director of sports information at Saint Mary's College.