Inaugural bocce ball season ‘exceeds expectations’ at Mahanoy

MAHANOY CITY – The Mahanoy Area Golden Bear Unified Bocce squad wrapped up their inaugural season Wednesday night in the Joe Alansky Gymnasium, hosting the Cougars of Hazleton Area.

“It definitely exceeded expectations,” Eric Moucheron, Mahanoy Area’s athletic director, said of the first season. “We didn’t know what to expect as far as community involvement, as far as school backing, and it has blown us out of the water.”

“The way our community gets behind us in everything we do, let alone this, is always incredible,” Moucheron said.

Moucheron said the community has embraced the sport and their home matches have drawn crowds of a similar, if not larger, size as their other athletic offerings.

Mahanoy Area was one of the first three schools in Schuylkill County to offer Unified Indoor Bocce as a sport, along with North Schuylkill and Schuylkill Haven. Hazleton Area in Luzerne County rounds out the North conference of the Greater Lehigh Valley-Pocono Region of Special Olympics Pennsylvania.

“It’s always great to be the pioneers, to lead the way in hopes the rest of the county joins us,” Moucheron said. “I know there’s an initiative to try to get more schools on for next year, we’d like to get some more competitions, so we would welcome any school interested to reach out to us.”

Shenandoah Valley School Board President Dan Salvadore was in attendance at Wednesday’s game, supporting his daughter, Gianna Murphy, who is a Mahanoy Area coach. He said his district has had discussions about adding bocce.

“It’s something we could bring to Shenandoah,” Salvadore said.

Schools across central Pennsylvania have also added bocce ball to their athletic offferings, including nearby schools Mount Carmel, Southern Columbia, and Shamokin Area.

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Kaylee Lindenmuth

Kaylee Lindenmuth is a Shenandoah native with a passion for journalism and the community she calls home.

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