PALLIN
POWER
Bocce team wraps up successful first season at MAHS.
BY PAUL GLASSER
With the inaugural season complete, members of the unified bocce team at Moon Area High School hope to attract more players next year.
This year nine members joined the team, including four special needs students. Coach Jason Persing says he hopes more will join next year because he would like to field two teams. He would also like to see more schools join the league, which is organized by the Special Olympics organization.
“ With more interest and more recognition, we want to build the program,” Persing says.
Bocce is an Italian bowling game where players score points by throwing or rolling balls so that they land as close as possible to a small ball called the pallino. Players can also try to knock their opponents’ balls away from the pallino in a tactic known as“ spocking.”
Moon Area High School decided to form a unified bocce team after learning about several other similar teams in the region. The Special Olympics organization provided training and equipment. Persing, a physical education teacher at the high school, has played bocce recreationally for about 10 years. The game is fun, simple and competitive.“ It’ s a game where people of all abilities can participate,” he explains. The unified bocce team also provides students with an opportunity to form friendships and gain a sense of pride by competing in a sport.
“ For a lot of the players, this is the first time they have competed on a team,” Persing notes.“ They also build social bonds in a team atmosphere that will carry over when the season ends.”
The most important skill is being able to accurately roll the ball, and players practice during gym class and after school. They look forward to competing against other teams and are excited when they have the chance to practice.
“ It makes school more fun and interesting for the kids,” Persing says.“ They want to be at school.”
Because the unified bocce program is new to the area, the Moon high school team only played two games in this inaugural season. They lost the first game against Avonworth but won the second game at home against Mt. Lebanon.
“ We learned from our defeat,” Persing says. Plus, the team had the home court advantage when they competed against Mt. Lebanon. The cheerleaders even made a tunnel for the bocce players at the start of the game and the pep band performed. Student athletes from other teams and members of the community also attended and showed their support.
“ It was definitely a big event, especially for kids who had never competed on a team before,” Persing notes.“ It made it really nice for them.”
The Moon unified bocce team also competed in the county championship and finished fourth. Sophomore Jenna Puhalla says she hopes the team will qualify for the
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