The new sport’s lingo isn’t the only thing being learned by members of the WAHS Unified Bocce team.

“I had learned of Unified Sports years prior at a Pennsylvania (Department of) Education conference,” said coach Cayla Leichtenberger. “It wasn’t until this year that the district and school board approved the program and started to implement bocce as a winter sport. I was head over heels to coach and have Kevin Dustin helping us during our matches.”

The WAHS Unified Bocce team is scheduled for a home match against Fort LeBoeuf at 3 p.m. Thursday in the Joseph A. Massa Gymnasium, and at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, for “Pack the Stands Night.” Admission is free and students — The Flannel Panel — and the community are encouraged to attend.

Much like Unified Sports, everyone is welcome.

Eric Irons rolls a bocce ball during a recent practice in the Warren Area High School gym. Photo submitted to Times Observer

“The ultimate goal is social inclusion and meaningful involvement,” said Leichtenberger. “PIAA joins forces with Special Olympics to include those with and without disabilities (50/50 ratio) on the same team. At the end of the day, ‘Unified’ should be treated just like any other PIAA sport. Our goal was to establish a team, learn the sport, and be competitive this season. Our team is doing a great job at that. I would love to qualify for playoffs and see where this team can take us in our rookie season.

“We have a ‘Pack the Stands’ campaign for our January 30 match,” she said. “We want to show our school and community what bocce is all about and have the environment similar to that of a home basketball game.”

WAHS Unified Bocce starters are Jacob Elmquist, Sophie Walker, Leo Westover, Sophia Fromknecht, Sammy White, Eric Irons, Ella Getner and Keely Southworth. Julia Getner is an alternate, and Lettie Pearson, Lily Walker, Peyton Cabisca, Attie Corey, and Tony Clark practice with the team.

“I’ve always had an interest in adapted sports,” said Leichtenberger. “My doctorate capstone project in grad school studied the impact of gymnastics on a child’s social, motor, and daily living skills. Seeing its positive outcomes, I knew there had to be more. I have since helped coach the Challenger Little League Baseball team for many years and love seeing opportunities grow in our community. Unified Sports is another piece to that puzzle.

“The school and community seem to be excited to offer Unified Sports,” she said. “We have a great group of students and hope to have support at our home matches the next coming weeks. Students who reside in each attendance area — that being Warren, Sheffield, Youngsville and Eisenhower — participate. It’s a great way to show county-wide participation.

“Only one athlete had prior experience with bocce, but ‘Unified’ is played indoors on the gym floor, so it was a learning curve for all,” said Leichtenberger. “The team has been working since November, learning the rules and strategies of the sport. They have showed interest since day one, and seem to be enjoying it. We are still working on strategy, but that will come with more game-time experiences. The strategy has been the hardest part and the most interesting. As a coach, I cannot assist the team during the games, so teaching the athletes and partners to slow down, talk, and then roll has been the focus… I attended a coaches’ training to learn the rules, but each team is on their own for strategy. We had obvious nerves game one, so I’m looking forward to see where the next few weeks takes us.

“The most fun has been looking at the new experiences it is providing for our athletes,” she said. “Many have never been on a school sports team before, so traveling to away games, hearing their names on the announcements, and working together has been really cool to watch and experience. We ordered bocce clothing, have a team spaghetti dinner planned at Peppermill the night before our big match (Jan. 30), and can’t wait to have the Flannel Panel support at our home games.”