In today’s episode of This Hits Different, Shelby Cassesse tells the story of the inclusive sport of unified bocce and its growth in Western Pennsylvania.
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It may be most commonly seen in backyards and outside restaurants, but these days, bocce is reaching a much younger — and more inclusive — audience.
“It’s really a nice thing for the kids to go and compete on that level, when the kids really don’t have that opportunity before,” says Freedom Area High School Principal Steve Mott
In many schools, Bocce is a unified sport, where special education and general education students play together. It has recently hit local high schools in a big way, including at Pittsburgh Public Schools, Thomas Jefferson, Baldwin and South Park just to name a few.
In many instances, like at Freedom, the idea of a unified bocce team spreads through word of mouth. Mott heard about it from a fellow educator.
“One of my friends is the head coach at Shenango High School,” Mott says. “He was just talking to me about how great it is for the students, and I started to look into it.”
Life skills teacher and coach Kennedy Carnahan launched the same program at New Brighton before taking a job at Freedom.
She's seen first-hand the growth of the sport.
"Beaver County is now in their own section because there are so many Beaver County schools,” Carnahan says. “Seeing them work together just as students, friends and teammates, has really been the best part of it.”
That includes kids like juniors Anthony Battaglia and Steffan Pagani. Neither had ever played bocce before, but saw the chance to learn something new and make friends.
"I like that it’s a simple sport to get into and not very rushed,” says Battaglia.
"I love that I’ve met new friends and new people,” Pagani says. “I love playing with my old friends.”
Not only has Freedom's team grown, so has its following. It's not uncommon to see student spectators at competitions. It's a welcomed sight for Battaglia.
“It makes me feel good knowing that there’s a lot of people out there who like the sport,” says Battaglia.
And for Pagani, who says he's normally the one cheering on his classmates at various sporting events.
“It makes me feel great,” he says. “I love when they cheer loud.”
Unified sports are paving a new path to understanding, friendship and opportunity.
The impact felt not just by athletes, but by their families and Mom's like Jessica Carris, who gets to watch her son Steffan thriving in a new environment.
“The opportunity to grow in confidence and find something else that he’s good at,” she says, “It’s something else that he can do in relation to his peers, as well.”