Windham unified bocce team making progress in second season

By Matt Pascarella

In just its second season, Windham High School’s varsity unified bocce team played Fryeburg Academy at home on Thursday, May 9 and put in a great effort but eventually fell to Fryeburg, 3-1.

Windham sophomore Mary Jean gives a strong toss toward
the pallina in a Unified Bocce match against Fryeburg 
Academy at Windham High School on Thursday, May 9. 

“I think bocce is the most inclusive of the unified sports,” said Windham unified bocce assistant coach Connor McNeil. “It doesn’t require a lot of physical exertion, but it requires a lot of thinking and different strategies. The best part about bocce is we’re able to recruit some players who wouldn’t otherwise play sports. Our team is really independent; they play by themselves, and they strategize by themselves; as coaches, we’re able to step back and let them play and have fun and I think that went really well today. Our team has shown growth in taking charge of themselves and doing things on their own without needing the support of an adult which is really the focus of unified sports.”

In bocce, one team throws a small white ball called the pallina, and the goal is to throw larger balls, called bocce, to get as close to the pallina as possible. Only the team closest to the pallina scores points. Each match consists of two 30-minute games with the winner being the first to reach 16, or whomever has the most points when time is up.

Although the score is kept, the object of the unified bocce game is more geared toward having fun and being part of a team.

Everyone on the Windham team played very well including senior Dani Iaconeta, sophomore Mary Jean, senior TJ McAllister, sophomore Zachary O’Brion, junior Colby Schmid, sophomore Jack Shirley, and senior Jacob Smith.

Windham players were high-fiving each other, focusing on their throws and celebrating their wins. Many Windham players had at least one throw where they got close to the pallina.

“We did pretty good, but we still need to focus on throwing the ball [closer to the pallina],” said Iaconeta. “We did really awesome; I got to hold the scoreboard that was awesome too. [Bocce] is really fun, and I get to see my friends and it teaches me teamwork.”

Iaconeta said that she had fun during the match and was eagerly awaiting the next bocce match.

“What went well was in the first year we were a little bit worse at throwing the balls and this year we got a lot better,” said Smith. “Our teammates were getting along a lot better. What needs work was we were struggling with sportsmanship because we had never met this team before. I like that we get to be outside, we get to have fresh air, and I get to see Ms. Blake a lot more. I had a ton of fun and I can’t wait until our next game.” <