Saucon Valley is rolling into new beginnings going on its second year of having the varsity unified bocce team. The team coached by Mason Stewart is currently 0-2-1.

The special Olympics team consists of three special needs athletes and five partners. This year’s roster consists of Cassidy Ash, Janna Blobe, Christopher Chaffier, Sahalay Hernandez, Gavin Lipp, Reese Marais, Zara Ortiz and Peyton Weirbach

“Unified Bocce at Saucon Valley has been a fun and positive experience for everyone involved,” Coach Stewart said. “It gives students the opportunity to interact and participate with classmates that they might not otherwise have met. Students of all different backgrounds get to be a part of a team and travel to different schools to compete against each other. It has been enjoyable to watch them come out of their shells and become more confident in themselves. I’m excited to see this program continue to grow and see what opportunities it can unlock for more students in the future.”

The goal of the game is to roll a bocce ball closest to the target ball (palina). A ball closest to the palina gets a point and if the other team is second closest it cancels out the rest of the balls. Games last 30 minutes with multiple frames per game.

Unified bocce is about more than competition; it’s about bringing students of all abilities together, celebrating their strengths and creating shared experiences through sport. Bocce is a unified sport meaning special needs people and their partners play together against other teams. Special Olympics says the sport provides people with special needs the opportunity to have social contact, develop physically and to gain self-confidence. It allows them to be a part of a team in the sports community.

“I was introduced to the team this year with the help of Zara and Cassidy.” said Reese Marais, a member of the team. “And so far, I think it’s an outstanding opportunity for special ed students and typical students to partake in sports together. It gives everyone the ability to experience a team sport in high school and enjoy the benefits such as collaboration to improve skills, celebrating achievements, and expanding friendships and positive relationships.”

Saucon Valley has been extremely supportive of this new sport, hosting fans in the stands event recently. It has been promoted on social media and the stands have been quite busy with people interested in this unique sport starting its beginning.