Photo courtesy @tswathletics on instagram

Senior Nico Marino scores for his team on the last roll of the bocce game.

Students return to the school building after a long, restful Thanksgiving break. Halls flood with friends reconnecting as classrooms are met by teachers, preparing lessons for the coming week. Meanwhile, the gym hosts a handful of athletes, determined to secure their spot on a particular team. Soon, balls are rolled across the floor and toward their targets. Bocce season is back.

Bocce tryouts were held in the main gym from Nov. 27 through the 29, in which students competed with one another to earn a spot on the team for the winter season. A typical game of bocce is started by one of two teams throwing a small ball into the field of play. The two teams take turns rolling bocce balls toward the small ball, and whoever can roll a ball the closest to the target scores. “It’s fun,” junior Az Zakharov said.

Tryouts on the 27 and 28 took place during advisory and lunch, with students tasked with rolling balls to three different distances. On the other hand, tryouts on the 29 were held after school and consisted of more traditional bocce matches, with a full court and rails set up for play, Coach Steve McMahon said.

Students were judged by their ability to accurately roll the balls and listen to feedback during the three sessions. Future applicants can expect a similar tryout process next year, McMahon said.

The bocce team coach only intended to induct around nine students for the team this year. However, all 11 of the students who tried out were accepted, as they all performed too well to be cut. “With any tryout, I appreciate the fact that students are putting themselves out there… I applaud students for [doing so],” McMahon said.

Last year, the team qualified for the state tournament after their successful performance in the postseason tournaments. “In the finals, we won four straight games to finish as state champs,” McMahon said.

Returning players consider this victory to be their greatest accomplishment. The team hopes to see similar results this season, senior Niko Marinos said.

The bocce team is organized differently than a typical school sports team. Bocce is a corollary sport, meaning that half of the team is composed of students with an IEP or 504 plan. “This was done to increase participation across the county and state,” McMahon said.

A large portion of this year’s bocce team consists of seniors. More students may be needed to fill the spots left by this year’s seniors. Thus, the team hopes for more players to give the sport a chance next year, Marinos said.

As for a motive to try out for the bocce team, participation in the sport allows students to further connect with the school’s community. “It’s another opportunity for students to get involved,” McMahon said.

The coach hopes that the players will be able to further hone their skills by continuing to play bocce. “I’m looking forward to developing good people and using bocce and the lessons involved to progress and improve,” McMahon said.