First-year Chartiers Valley unified bocce team advances to state tournament
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A first-year Chartiers Valley High School activity is providing a way for senior Marko Orbovich to honor an uncle who died of cancer.
“He used to play bocce a lot, so I decided to play for him,” Marko said.
Uncle B.J. no doubt would be enjoying the results.
Marko and the rest of the Chartiers Valley unified bocce team continued a stellar inaugural season by finishing second in the Three Rivers Region championship and earning a March 22-23 trip to Hershey for a chance at the state title.
The team is part of the Special Olympics Interscholastic Unified Sports program, which works with 358 schools throughout Pennsylvania to provide athletic opportunities for all students.
“It always brings a smile to my face to see them do well, and help them throughout the practices and in the games,” coach Courtney Chiurazzi said. “It’s a really good organization.”
A 2017 Chartiers Valley High School graduate who now teaches at the middle school, Chiurazzi has an uncle who participates in Special Olympics.
“So when this spot opened up and I saw the posting, I knew that I wanted to be involved. And it’s easily my favorite thing that I’m a part of,” she said.
Her team has eight members, four each in general and special education. Most hadn’t played bocce before, except for a time or two in gym class, prior to initial practices.
The season started in December with a trip to Moon Area High School.
“We actually lost that game in overtime. It was a really close match,” Chiurazzi said. “But Moon was the first game that we played in the playoffs this season, and we won.”
That was during the Three Rivers Region’s Southwest Division championships, and the Chartiers Valley players won their final game against West Allegheny to advance to regional competition, held March 9 at Geneva College in Beaver Falls.
“We’ve had a lot of fun,” junior Ian Bautista said. “I think the team’s really gotten closer through the past few months. It’s really great to see everyone progress in skill.”
He also participates in his school’s chapter of Best Buddies International, which is dedicated to ending the isolation of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Chartiers Valley hosted the 13th annual Best Buddies Prom in May.
Teammate Kendal Astor, who will serve on the chapter’s board next school year as a senior, joined the bocce team as a complementary activity.
“I was kind of going into it thinking it would just be for fun,” she said. “And while it is fun, it also does get competitive, and I really wasn’t expecting that.”
With competition comes life lessons.
“We’ve learned how great it feels to win,” Chiurazzi said. “But we’ve also learned the importance of losing, and taking that feeling and not being super upset about it, but taking those losses with the wins.”
Team members also learn about the responsibility of setting up for matches and packing up afterward. Special Olympics provides the equipment, including PVC pipe to outline indoor courts to match a regulation size of 60 feet long by 12 feet wide and, of course, bocce balls, which in this case are filled with nontoxic gel.
As is common, a match starts with a player tossing a pallino (also spelled “pallina”), a smaller ball. Other players then throw, trying to get their spheres closest to the pallino.
“I’m good with my ball throw,” CV senior Andrew Wright attested. “We play and we have fun, and then we shake hands after the game.”
Camaraderie among everyone involved is a major component of unified bocce.
“They’re always encouraging each other,” Chiurazzi said. “Other sports teams have been super-supportive, too. The football team came out and would watch our games, and the girls basketball team. It’s really been kind of a whole-school activity they’ve been doing.”
In fact, the student body took part in a surprise sendoff when the team was ready to travel to Geneva.
For Kendal Astor, the overall bocce experience has been rewarding.
“I’m super proud that we got this far. I couldn’t ask for anything else for our first year,” she said. “It sets the bar high for next year.”