Moses Lake Special Olympics bocce team excels at state championships

MOSES LAKE —The Moses Lake Special Olympics’ bocce team participated in the state tournament in Tacoma over the weekend. The bocce team took home six medals altogether, with three gold, two silver and a bronze and had two players finish fourth.

“We had it at the Puget Sound University for (state competition); it was a really nice place, and they treated the athletes very well,” said Shane Lunderville, the bocce coach for the Moses Lake Special Olympics team. “We also got to go to a Rainiers game that Friday night, so that was really special for the athletes.”

The bocce team played both individual and unified matches during the tournament. For the individual play on day one, the team earned one gold, two silvers, one bronze and had their last two players earn fourth place at the tournament.

The unified teams for bocce played on day two and both teams ended up getting gold medals. The men’s unified team won their first match, lost the second and came back to rally for a win in the third. The women’s team would also come out on top to win gold.

Lunderville said it was very rewarding for the bocce team to earn four gold medals in the state tournament. Bocce is one of the growing sports in the Special Olympics in Eastern Washington after being added around five years ago.

“There was some good competition this year,” said Lunderville. “I thought they did very well.”

When the season began, the coach said he wanted the team to focus on their accuracy. The other aspect of the game that he wanted to focus on was their overall strategy, where the players really think about their ball placement when they throw.

“It’s one thing to throw the ball down there, it’s another to throw it accurately on a rough lawn,” he said. “We really practiced some techniques and accuracy this year.”

Lunderville said that as the season went on, the players began to take these strategies without his coaching. This was important to learn since during bocce competitions, the coaches are not allowed to communicate with their players while they’re playing.

“With soccer, you can yell at them and do all that kind of stuff, but with bocce, you have to be quiet,” he said. “As a coach, you get them all the way to that point and then it’s on them.”

Now that the Moses Lake Special Olympics bocce team’s spring season is over, the coach is now preparing them for their next season and for the future of the sport as a whole.

Lunderville said he expects the teams to add more athletes next year after their growth from this year and, as such, will need to prepare more equipment and courts to accommodate. He also wants to work on more specific and individual training for the players to prepare them for next year’s competition.

    The women’s unified team, Rosemary Wells and Madison Voss, earns gold at the bocce state tournament over the weekend. Wells also earned second place in the individual matches.
  

    Cory Dempsey shakes the hand of an officer after receiving his medal for second place in the bocce tournament. Coach Shane Lunderville said he was impressed by how the team performed without his input in the championships.
  

    Brandon Svopa stands with an officer and holds up his bronze medal after the bocce state tournament. Bocce is still a relatively new sport in the Special Olympics with this being the fifth year since its addition, said coach Shane Lunderville.
  

    Earning fourth at the bocce state tournament, Isaac Lunderville receives his award from an officer. Coach Shane Lunderville said he expects the team roster to grow by next season.