This year, Shaler Area’s Bocce team battled it out on the court to finish fifth in the Regional Championship at Gateway High School on March 1. Through their hard work and diligence with Coach Cristian Pintar, Michelle Smyers, Naveah Bartsch, and Austin Zillweger, both the White and Blue teams had very successful seasons. 

The Blue team is led by captains Lizzy Miller and Brody Wohlgemuth, and has a total of eight players. The White team is led by Jacob Broderick and Cloe Wohlgemuth and also consists of eight players. 

The Bocce team is supported through the Special Olympics and Unified Sports program. A student is paired with a student from the life skills class and plays against other nearby districts to promote inclusivity in sports. The sport provides life skill kids with the opportunity to have social contact, develop physically, and to gain self-confidence. 

The Special Olympics’s goal is to shift focus to what athletes can do, not what they can’t. With that, the attention to disabilities slowly fades, turning the audience’s attention to the substantial skills these athletes have despite their disabilities.

This year Shaler played against teams from Deer Lakes, North Hills, North Allegheny, and Hampton. Because both Shaler Area teams secured a spot in the Regional Championship, they had to play against each other. Although this was not ideal for either team and the coaches, both teams showed great honesty and kindness towards one another. At the end of the match, the blue team came out on top and the white team was very supportive of their fellow classmates and friends. 

The blue team finished fourth overall at the Regional Championship and got the privilege to attend the Championship at Metheny Fieldhouse at Geneva College on March 9. 

The blue team was able to bring their “A game” and secured second place. Unfortunately this did not allow them to travel to Hershey for the State Championship. The team made great efforts and demonstrated great sportsmanship. The coaches were very proud of their team. 

“The Bocce season went very well although we didn’t get First or went to Hershey for championship I think it’s better that as a team we definitely bonded more than usual because of how far we made it and to me that’s more important than some chocolate,” said team captain Brody Wohlgemuth.