This is the moment a blind schoolgirl receives a thunderous cheer after successfully sinking a shot on a basketball court in front of the hushed crowd.
The joyous scene was filmed at Zeeland East High School, in the city of Zeeland, in Ottawa County, in the US state of Michigan.
‘ZPS [Zeeland Public Schools]: Learning for Life’ shared the video on 22nd March on Facebook, where it has been viewed 212,000 times.
ZPS said: “And you thought March Madness was exciting. Zeeland Public Schools Unified Basketball took over the court this morning, and the crowd went WILD!”
Karen Hoogland replied in the comments section: “She’s completely blind! That’s my daughter! I’m so proud of her and all her accomplishments! Zeeland Public Schools has stood beside my daughter and encouraged her all her years in school. Thank you ZPS!”
The footage shows blind student Jules Hoogland, an 11th grader at the school, preparing to shoot a basketball into the hoop as the hushed crowd looks on in anticipation.
Meanwhile, Cheryl Beute taps the backboard with a pole to help the blind girl make the shot.
The crowd then erupts in cheer as Jules successfully sinks the shot.
This game took place as part of the Unified Sports Program for special education students who compete against other schools in the area.
Jules admitted that she was slightly nervous while taking the shot: “I was like, ‘everyone’s staring me better. Can’t see them staring at me.’ So this is good.”
The girl standing behind Jules in the video is Ally Guffey.
Jules said: “She’s my eyes on the court, because I don’t have my cane side to put my trust in here to make sure she doesn’t let me get hit by balls, and she guides me in the right direction.”
Ally said: “I had never met anyone who was blind before. So I knew nothing. She put a lot of trust in me. And it just… we had a lot of trial and error. But we have come very, very far. And now we’re in a class together for the past two years.”
