Bocce is a game of judgement as one has to be aware of one’s strength, depth perception, and spatial awareness at the same time.
Sophomore Alex Lanzt describes the process of the game, showcasing how judgement plays a crucial role.
“…You have to roll your ball as close to the pallino [a small target ball as you can,” Lanzt said. “Then they measure how far the red ball and green ball are from the pallino. After they measure it, they say which color the ball is, and that determines the next roll. And each person takes around 4 rolls and whoever gets closest to the pallino the most times wins.”
Putting in the work during the off season is a must for any athlete, but this team finds this has been a key to success.
“We usually do some pre-season practices, then we play all sort of cool mini games like knock out where you have to roll the ball as fast you can, and usually there are a whole lot of bocce balls rolling,” Lantz said.
Lantz knows there are essential steps to follow before any individual meet.
“[We have to… set] up bocce court, [get] chairs out, [gets] the balls out, and [do] at home exercises to get [warmed] up…,” Lantz said.
The group has bonded and enjoys one another’s company.
“On our team, everybody gets along really well,” Lantz said. “The games are a lot of fun.”
Senior captain Shayne Ryan notes that new members are wanted to join the unified club’s bocce team, according to senior Captain Shane Ryan.
“…Come to our meetings… come to home matches or away matches, if you can, to get to know the people, the athletes, the partners, Coach Hendricks, or Coach Murphy,” Ryan said. “It is a fun time. We love new people. We love support from people who enjoy and like what we do and also the support from the people who are facilitated and involve in our organization.”
Student athlete Junior Isabella Sasada reflects on the frequent practice schedule the team follows.
“We usually have practices Tuesday and Thursday,” Sasada said. “[They are] about two hours [and] start at 3 p.m. and normally end around 5 p.m.”
