American Association of AdaptED Sports Celebrating 30 Years

The American Association of AdaptED Sports Programs, Inc. (AAASP), a longtime partner of the NFHS, is marking 30 years of service this school year and is highlighting several key initiatives to commemorate the milestone.

AAASP, a 501(c)(3) organization, has provided education- based athletic opportunities for student-athletes with physical and other qualifying disabilities since its founding following the 1996 Paralympic Games. Headquartered in Atlanta, AAASP delivers infrastructure for adapted athletics to local and national education agencies, state high school associations, and state departments of education for students in grades 1-12 through its AAASP AdaptED Sports Programs.

Throughout its history, AAASP has developed and published competition rules for sports like wheelchair basketball; standardized athletic seasons; established safety guidelines; provided training for coaches and officials; and created compliant guidelines and inclusive policies.

Studies have long shown that students with disabilities lag far behind their peers in access to physical activity, school athletics and the benefits of interscholastic programs, and AAASP has remained committed to working with partners nationwide to help create systematic change.

“Celebrating 30 years gives us the chance to honor the many leaders and partners who have walked this path with us — especially the NFHS,” said Dr. Jenny Millward, AAASP executive director. “Their commitment to inclusion has strengthened our work from the beginning, from recognizing adapted sports in state championships to promoting national best practices and coaching education. Together, we’ve helped young athletes take their place on the field of play, and we look forward to continuing this shared journey.”

Since AAASP’s founding, more than 2,319 competitions have been held involving over 7,600 cumulative seasonal participants and 2,559 cumulative participating schools. Additionally, more than 2,100 coaches and officials have been trained in adapted sports through AAASP programs.

The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) and AAASP formed the nation’s first dual-governing alliance in 2001 to pioneer education-based adapted athletic programs for students with physical disabilities. Today, the AAASP/GHSA alliance conducts state championships in adapted wheelchair basketball, wheelchair football and wheelchair handball, as well as adapted track and field. While Georgia has worked with AAASP for decades, the organization has worked with several other states over the years as well.

The NFHS and AAASP have maintained a working relationship since at least 2004, and the two organizations, along with the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association, collaborated on the “Best Practices in Education-Based Adapted Team Sports” resource published in 2015.

AAASP and the NFHS also worked together to create the “Coaching Adapted Sports” online course offered on the NFHS Learning Center. Since its launch in 2019, the course has been accessed more than 27,000 times nationwide.

A central tenet of AAASP’s mission is ensuring that no student is excluded from school athletics because of physical or qualifying disabilities — a goal that aligns closely with the NFHS mission to increase opportunities for all high school students.

“For three decades, AAASP has set a powerful example of what inclusion in athletics should look like — thoughtful, equitable and student-centered,” NFHS CEO Dr. Karissa Niehoff said. “Its leadership has opened doors for thousands of young athletes and inspired countless schools and state associations to rethink what opportunity truly means. The NFHS is proud to work alongside AAASP in expanding opportunities for every student-athlete to compete and succeed, and we celebrate the tremendous progress they’ve helped bring to the interscholastic community.”

During its 7th Annual ASPIRE Awards on October. 26 in Atlanta, AAASP honored NFHS with a Community-Based Program Award. The ASPIRE awards “celebrate those whose dedication and impact have been instrumental in furthering AAASP’s mission to expand access to adapted sports programming nationwide.”

NFHS maintains a direct connection to AAASP through Sandy Searcy, NFHS director of sports, who has served on the AAASP Board of Directors since 2016.

Searcy has seen first-hand just how impactful AAASP is for student-athletes.

“AAASP has provided opportunities for students to gain confidence, develop athletic skills, and experience the camaraderie of team sports,” Searcy said. “Beyond physical growth, these athletes have seen significant improvements to their social and emotional well-being. For many students, AAASP has served as a lifeline, offering an opportunity to participate in competitive sports they might not have otherwise had access to.”

Key AAASP initiatives planned for 2025-26 include a second round of “Get in the Game” grants funded by the state of Georgia to help school districts add AdaptED sports programming, the third annual AAASP Summer Basketball camp, a 30th Anniversary Celebration at the 8th Annual ASPIRE Awards, expanded training opportunities for coaches and officials, and the launch of a redesigned logo, as well as website that will feature live scores, historical results, rule books, videos and more.

To learn more about AAASP, visit https://adaptedsports.org/celebrating-aaasps-30-year-anniversary/

Jordan Morey is manager of communications and media relations at the NFHS.