East County seniors go on a roll with Bocce at Gulf Coast Senior Games

Sport fills the void for those who can’t play golf, but want a social connection.

By Jessica Salmond
| 5:40 a.m. February 24, 2016

East County
News

“One red!” called out a player standing at one end of the bocce court.

A friendly debate then ensued over which team’s ball was closest to the white ball, or pallino. This was slightly serious

business.

Seeking shade

The John Marble bocce league meets all year, twice a week, even in the summer heat.

That’s why league organizer Richard Breem is beseeching Manatee County to replace the collapsible tents the team uses to shade its members, who range from 47 to 87 years old.

“The tents are ragged,” he said.

The league used to have three. However, after the first time Breem made a request, the county removed one due to its condition and has not yet replaced it.

Breem said he’s emailed the county four or five times, citing his safety concern for the exposure to the heat and sun, especially during summer months.

“In July, it’s baking out here,” he said.

The county parks department responded to him to say there was not enough money in the budget to purchase new tents, which cost approximately $99 each, Breem said. The county did install three new bands of barbed wire around the bocce’s fence.

The league itself has paid for several improvements to the courts, including an equipment shed and ball stands. It built the original court and then turned it over to the county, as well, in 2003.

A bit more so than usual, considering the teams were competing in the Gulf Coast Senior Games Bocce Tournament, held Feb. 19 at John Marble Park.

“We take the game very seriously, and we will argue about a half-inch,” said Bradenton’s Frank Piccolo, with a laugh. Piccolo is the league’s native Italian member who has been playing bocce his entire life.

After more debate, the players waved over the official bocce tournament judge, Manatee County’s Danny Hopkins, who took the final measurement.

One red.

More than 20 players continued play in the tournament, which wasn’t much different than their usual outings at John Marble Park on State Road 70. The players gather at the bocce courts every Wednesday and Sunday morning to form East

County’s unofficial bocce league.

“It’s a word of mouth thing,” said Richard Breem, a Rosedale Golf and Country Club resident who is loosely considered the league organizer. “This is a fun league.”

The seniors started coming together about 10 years ago, after several bocce players and neighbors met each other at the Peridia Golf and Country Club.

It started with Thomas Mazzone, a former Peridia resident who now lives in Parrish. Being of Italian descent, Mazzone was familiar with the game and brought a few neighbors into it. The group pooled together $3,000 to build a court at the John Marble park. They donated it to the county, and later the county built two new courts that were regulation-sized.

“We were a bunch of old guys with nothing to do who couldn’t play golf,” said Mazzone, a retired U.S. Army Reserves brigadier general who started the league.

Chester Kobel of Peridia waits his turn.

“Bocce means so much to him,” said Joe Telesco, a Peridia member. “He took me in, and he’s been a terrific friend.”

Some players refer to Breem as the captain, for he keeps the group organized and on top of the game.

Breem, who won the Senior Games tournament with partner Walt Kuziel, started playing bocce in 1999.

“It’s about bringing seniors together,” he said. “It’s fun. There’s camaraderie and we socialize.”

To keep everyone from getting too competitive, the league picks team members at random and juggles the lineups after a period of time.

Pete Schneider, a former Peridia resident, has been a league member for 10 years. One of his fondest memories was his first year playing the game in 2005. He hadn’t planned to compete in the Senior Games tournament because he felt he was still a novice. However, one of the teams needed a substitute and filled the spot.

“I had one of those days that I couldn’t do anything wrong,” he said when remembering the competition.

Schneider and his partner won the gold.

“It’s all good fun,” he said.

Even if it was slightly serious.

Bocce

Balls — Four balls per team, each team having its own color.

Pallino — A white ball thrown to one end of the court, which is then used as an aiming point.

Teams — Bocce can be played with between one and four players per team, however the most common play is two players per team.

Courts — Official courts are 86.92 feet long and 13.12 feet wide, but unofficial courts can be smaller.

Play — One member from each team goes to each end of the court. One team tosses the pallino toward the other end of the court. Then, players take turns — called frames — throwing balls toward the pallino. The goal is to get the ball closest to or touching the pallino. The team with the ball closest to the pallino gets a point. If a ball is rolled and it hits the back board of the court, it’s a dead ball and is taken off the court; however, a ball can hit a side board with no penalty. The game is played to eight or 12 points.

Source: United States Bocce Federation