Peters Township unified bocce team wins state tournament in first season

Peters Township School District’s unified bocce team finished its inaugural season with victory last week.
The team won the PIAA state championship tournament Thursday in Hershey. Head Coach Mark Seckar, a math teacher at Peters Township High School, said each member of the five-person squad played their part in the three tournament matches.
“All of them threw equally well. They all contributed. Our athletes had some of the biggest throws of the whole competition. There were a lot of nerves, for sure,” Seckar said.
Seckar added that they won a “close game” against Northern York County School District to claim first place.
The unified sports leagues are sponsored by the Pennsylvania branch of the Special Olympics, and aim to help special needs students participate in athletics.
The two athletes on the Peters Township team are Wyatt Johnston and Parker Mamula, who are both juniors. Also on the team are partner students Reston Lehman, sophomore; Sophia Ellison, senior; and Mark Ripepi, sophomore. Seckar coaches the team with assistant Brian Farrell, a health and physical education teacher at the high school.
According to Seckar, the path to Hershey was not easy. They started with eight players, which whittled down to five by the end of the season. He added that Mamula had difficulty stepping up when it was his turn to throw a bocce ball.
“In our first match of the year, Parker was very withdrawn and really did not want to participate,” Seckar said.
Getting kids out of their shells is part of the goal with unified sports. For Mamula, Seckar said a pair of sunglasses and a hat helped him get up for his throws.
“It was a great accomplishment, just to get him to participate,” Seckar said.
If some of those nerves returned for Mamula at the Giant Center in Hershey, it was not for long.
“After he got going, he was fantastic,” Seckar said.
Including the tournament games, the Peters bocce team finished its first season with a 13-4 record.
Seckar says win or lose, unified sports are a help to the kids participating.
“One of the best things about the unified sports is just to see the interaction between kids, and how they get along and are able to work together toward a common goal,” Seckar said. “And also able to make some pretty lasting friendships.”