North Hills High School scores hit with unified bocce team

The concept is simple.

You roll a small ball, and wherever it stops, players launching larger spheres try to propel them as close to that point as possible.

But however mundane that type of activity may seem, consider that people have participated in it for at least 7,000 years. And that includes doing so at North Hills High School.

“It’s very popular among the students here,” Evan King said. “We have kids who ask us every single day if they can be on the bocce team next year.”

King, a special education teacher at the school, helps coach North Hills’ unified bocce program, part of a Special Olympics Pennsylvania initiative to allow students of a variety of abilities to engage in meaningful sports competitions.

“It’s a great experience for everybody,” head coach Lisa Towers, who also teaches special education, said. “I love to see the enthusiasm with the kids, the relationships they’ve built with each other. We’re having a great season this year, and I just can’t wait to keep going and continue the sport with our students and our high school.”

She and Jill Mikula, a physical education and health teacher, advise the school’s Buddy Program, which aims to develop one-to-one friendships and promote social interaction among life-skills and other students.

With bocce’s start at North Hills in 2022 came Buddy Program students as members, including then-junior Anna Segal.

“I was part of the team last year, and this year I’m more for moral support, because I have other things that kind of coincide,” she said. “But I’ve been to every game so far. I announced the last game. And it’s so fun.”

On the practical side, bocce and the Buddy program are providing plenty of experience toward her plans to study autism support for high school.

Another Buddy, senior Maci Glath, joined the bocce team this year and has a strong interest in inclusion for everyone.

“I love being around the kids, being able to help out with really anything to make them feel more involved, and to help people realize: Why can’t we all be friends?” Maci said. “We’re very lucky that we have it here at our school.”

For senior Izaha Lynch, away matches represent a particularly appealing aspect of playing bocce.

“There are a lot of schools that I’ve seen that I could never have imagined seeing,” he said, plus he enjoys being able to spend more time with his life-skills classmates.

And he gets to hang out with teammate Logan Filipcic, his cousin.

Logan, another senior, plays golf for North Hills and is coached by King.

“He asked me if I wanted to be on the team, and obviously I wanted to. It’s a great thing to do,” Logan said about bocce. “It’s fun, because some of my friends are on the team, too.”

On Jan. 23, the team played its first home game, a match vs. Deer Lakes that featured North Hills cheerleaders, band members and well-wishers from the school and community offering encouragement.

“The inclusion has really been a huge benefit from this,” Jamie Patterson, an autistic support teacher who serves as another a bocce coach, said. “Just getting to know our students on a more personal level, spending more time with them, having something to talk about, having a common interest: The more familiar they get with them, the better it is.”

King agreed

“Students from around the school have been a lot more comfortable speaking with our life-skills and autistic-support students throughout the school day,” he said. “There are a lot of kids who will high-five them and make them feel more of a part of the school.”

Patterson and King also lead a program at the high school called Partners in PE.

“We created a classroom for physical education where the students take over and run it,” King said, explaining that the experience primarily is for those contemplating careers in special education. “They learn about some of the limitations that some of the students will have, and they plan lessons that include all students, have all students achieve.”

Prospective teachers have another bonus, according to Patterson.

“It gives them a lot of leadership opportunities, too,” she said. “It’s been really fun so far to watch.”

As for bocce, she may have been among those who underestimated the pastime’s appeal.

“It’s been a lot more fun than I thought it would be,” she acknowledged. “But I’ve really enjoyed it so far.”

First-time player Maci made her own acknowledgment.

“It was a little challenging at first, but once I got the hang of it, I think I’m pretty good,” she said. “It’s just a super-fun sport. I think everyone should have to play bocce at some point in their life.”