Pioneers unified bocce team shines in debut

The Poughkeepsie High School unified bocce team made its debut Tuesday in a tri-match with Arlington and Wappingers.

Unified sports are inclusive opportunities for athletes of all abilities to play together. They’re facilitated through Special Olympics New York and are governed under the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, the same as other varsity sports.

Poughkeepsie previously competed in unified bowling in winter and basketball in spring; in adding bocce this fall – the first year in which area high schools have adopted the sport – Poughkeepsie can offer a varsity unified sport each season of the school year.

“It’s just good to see our students feel a sense of belonging to something,” said high school special education teacher JayQuan Floyd, who serves as head coach of all three unified teams and is assisted by Poughkeepsie Middle School math teacher Lynnece Edmond. “Sports closes the gaps for those wanting to be part of a group, that they’re not left out, that they mean something.”

Poughkeepsie’s emphasis on unified athletics has, in fact, earned recognition from the Special Olympics, and the high school will be honored with a Special Olympics New York Unified Champion Schools banner, which will be hung in the gym alongside the Pioneers’ other sports later this school year.

Floyd expects Poughkeepsie’s bocce team to soon include 15 members in all, composed of students with exceptionalities and partner students who provide assistance, as is the case with the previous unified teams.

“We also have our teaching assistants and one-to-one aides who also assist with our students, similar to how they are educated in the classroom throughout the day,” Floyd said. “We take the classroom and we take it to sports, and we bring it on the road and we bring it home.”

He said the team “showed out strong” in its first match at Arlington Tuesday and “had a lot of fun.” The teams played 15-minute games with five players on each team competing in the games and rotating. out. The entire match lasted around 90 minutes.

Poughkeepsie’s next match comes on the road Tuesday. The team’s schedule is continuing to evolve, and can be found at poughkeepsieschools.org/athletics.

The athletes have been practicing during their adaptive physical education classes. While they’ve been working on learning the rules of bocce, they’re also beginning to think about strategy. Through the nature of the popular lawn game, in which opposing teams try to toss their balls to land as close to a target – called a pallino – Floyd said students are getting experience using measuring devices, with elements that work on hand-eye coordination and incorporate math, physics and other educational areas. He said the students have eagerly taken to the sport this fall.

“They were all in to it,” he said. “A lot of kids understand there’s a correlation that will take it right into bowling.”