Indoor bocce teams compete to make states
SLIPPERY ROCK — Unified Indoor Bocce teams clashed Thursday at a regional tournament at Slippery Rock University's Morrow Field House, playing for a trip to the state tournament in Hershey.
Teams from Grove City High School, which took first place, and West Middlesex High School, which took second, punched their tickets to the state tournament later this month.
The Special Olympics Interscholastic Unified Sports program is supported by PIAA and the Bureau of Special Education. The program forms teams of athletes with and without intellectual disabilities.
Amanda Breed co-coordinates the regional program, which covers Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties, alongside her colleague Jillian Stringfellow. Breed said there were a total of 13 teams from 10 schools that competed.
“Seeing the difference, it's heartwarming,” Breed said. “They are all good. They could smoke me.”
Of the three high schools from Butler County that competed, Butler took fifth place and Seneca Valley came in eighth; Slippery Rock could not break into the top eight.
Breed said Butler and Seneca Valley athletes were new to the program this year, but their bocce skills and competitive instincts have improved since the beginning of the season.
“At the start, they were kind of timid,” she said. “Today, they were acting like any other varsity sports team.”
Breed said Slippery Rock University graduate students acted as coaches for all teams that attended, and the event progressed smoothly.
“All of our teams were really great to deal with,” she said. “We had a really great crowd.”
The Unified Indoor Bocce season spans from December to February with championships in March.
Over that period, teams, which consist of a proportional number of students with and without intellectual disabilities, practice at least twice per week and participate in at least three competitions, according to the program's website.
Breed said some schools can even fill more than one team. She said Butler took two teams this year.
“I would love to see Seneca Valley expand to two teams,” she said.
Breed said she is excited for the future of the program, which has two other sports following the same structure. She said she also looks forward to seeing the camaraderie she saw in this year's event for many years to come.
“The sportsmanship has been just incredible,” Breed said. “Seeing them interact with each other, they value each other as much as they would anyone else at their school.”
