This year’s bocce team is coached by Dr. Spaid, CAJSH’s junior and senior counselor, and Mrs. Hoover, our school’s business teacher. Our captains are senior Cruz Wright, and junior Cameron Conklin.

The Clearfield Bison Bocce Team started off the season with a home-tournament against West Branch Area Junior-Senior High School. The first half of the game ended with a score of Clearfield-1, and West Branch-11. The second half also ended up with West Branch winning 7-5.

Despite our loss, everyone is still proud of our performance. Devan Desantis, a fresh face on the team, stated, in spite of being nervous, “I felt we did okay, but I don’t think we really had our heads in the game…We made some little mistakes, but I know that it was just a bad game for us because in practice every kid does really well.” Captain Cruz Wright also added, “Our first game was not a win, but it proved to me that we have great potential!”

Many new players were added to CAJSHS’s bocce team this season, including Katelyn Hetrick, Landon Libreatori, Cameron Conklin, Ethan Yarger, Devan Desantis, Rylee Biancuzzo, Cameron Reams, Scarlett LeBeau, David Sims, Cody Bender, Erick Conaway, and Isaiah Maines.

CAJSHS’s returning bocce players are Cruz Wright, Kimberly Wilsoncroft, Katherine Turner, and Shaylee Sharp.

According to Dr. Spaid, bocce was introduced to CAJSHS around three years ago, which was when she began to coach. Dr. Spaid truly loves bocce and how rewarding it has been for her. She explains, “Seeing the kids realize success on the Bocce court and seeing the smiles and the positive effect it has on students makes me feel very fulfilled.”

When asked if Dr. Spaid had anything else she would like our readers to know, she added, “I encourage all students to come out and watch a Bocce Match. The kids love having ‘fans in the stands.’” She adds that future games include a scrimmage with Mo-Valley on February 24, and the championship is March 2 at 4:00 here in the Weiss gym.