2024-09-10 21:20:02
PROVIDED The late Chris Boyce, a Special Olympics Bocce ball player, stands at right.
It’s been three years since her son Christopher passed away suddenly, but Rhonda Boyce, of Cogan Station, remembers the joy that he felt when he played on the Special Olympics Bocce team.
Christopher was a good player, so good that he was given the nickname of “magic hands,” for the unique way he could coax the ball down the court to score.
When he passed away in 2021, Christopher was 53 years old and had been involved with the Special Olympics since he was in his twenties.
“He’s been in the Special Olympics for a long, long time and when they introduced Bocce ball into Special Olympics as a certified sport, Chris started playing Bocce ball, so he’s been in it ever since it started in the Special Olympics,” said his mom.
“He was exceptionally skilled at Bocce,” she added.
RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent
Volunteers Valerie Aldinger and Nick Woodruff measure to determine the closest ball to the target during the 3rd Annual Chris “Magic Hands” Boyce Special Olympics Bocce Invitational at Williamsport Area High School on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. The tournament gives Special Olympians in Bocce from Lycoming and neighboring counties an opportunity to compete locally.
And that’s where he earned his nickname for the way the ball would just magically end up in scoring range.
In Bocce, a little white ball called a Pallino is rolled down the court. To be considered ‘in play,’ the ball must pass the center line and stay in the court which is called seating the Pallino. If the first team doesn’t seat the Pallino, the other team gets their toss until a successful toss is made, according to the rules for Bocce. Then players take turns rolling their balls down the court. The goal is to be the player whose ball is closest to the Pallino and stays in the court.
“He would roll it down the court, and as it was slowly rolling down the court, he would use his hands like guiding the ball down the court, but then magically, like when it got close to the Pallino, it would just kind of curve into where it needed to be. He excelled at that and eventually this ‘magic hands’ nickname just got pinned on him,” she said.
And that’s why for the last three years, the invitational tournament at the Williamsport Area High School has been called the Chris “Magic Hands” Boyce Special Olympic Bocce Invitational
When Chris passed away unexpectedly in his sleep his parents, Rhonda and Ron encouraged friends and relatives to donate to the Special Olympics in remembrance of their son.
RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent
Frank Schrade rolls the target ball while competing for Northumberland-Snyder counties in the 3rd Annual Chris “Magic Hands” Boyce Special Olympics Bocce Invitational at Williamsport Area High School on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. The tournament gives Special Olympians in Bocce from Lycoming and neighboring counties an opportunity to compete locally.
“There was such a generosity of donations to Special Olympics, because that’s where we wanted it. And then within the next year, Special Olympics wanted to start something honoring Chris, because he was such an inspiration to athletes and everybody, so they created this Invitational,” Rhonda said.
This year’s invitational featured 17 teams from eight neighboring counties.
“It enables them to come somewhere close by. It kind of gives them a kickoff to the competitions that are coming up. In the late fall they go to the Bloomsburg Bocce Bash, and then they have playoffs at Juniata College. It progresses until they end up at states at Villanova,” Rhonda explained.
“This kind of gives them a chance to practice their skills in competition and meet some new friends. They all have a good time today, so it’s a lot of fun,” she said.
For kids and adults who may not be able to participate in other sports, like running or shooting hoops in basketball because of physical limitations, Rhonda said Bocce is “such a great skill.”
RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent
Matt Guglielmo, center, watches as his ball rolls towards the target during the 3rd Annual Chris “Magic Hands” Boyce Special Olympics Bocce Invitational at Williamsport Area High School on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. The tournament gives Special Olympians in Bocce from Lycoming and neighboring counties an opportunity to compete locally.
“This is probably one of the easiest sports for people that are a little more handicapped than other people and really want to do something, but it gives them the opportunity to to play. So it really is a good sport for that,” she said.
She noted that one of the competitors in Sunday’s invitational tournament was in a wheelchair, “so it works out nicely,” she added.
“But I think for Chris, it was just, you know, playing with a partner and just being around his friends, and he just really excelled at that sport. I think it’s just that’s what he leaned into, because he could really play well at it,” she said.
Having the competition named after him is fitting, because, according to his mom, Chris looked forward to competing.
“He was such an inspiration to the other sports people, you know, cheering everybody else on. But all the kids are like that today. They’re all cheering each other on,” she said.
RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent
Sonya Krebs competes for Northumberland-Snyder counties in the 3rd Annual Chris “Magic Hands” Boyce Special Olympics Bocce Invitational at Williamsport Area High School on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. The tournament gives Special Olympians in Bocce from Lycoming and neighboring counties an opportunity to compete locally.
Although Chris often won gold medals at the state competition, his mother admitted there were times he also lost.
“And that’s where he was so inspiring. That’s when he started looking to next year — ‘OK, next year I’m gonna win the gold.’ He was always looking for the next game. He was just awesome at that,” Rhonda said.
For the Boyce family volunteering at the invitational tournament is a given. Ron was down at the Bocce court that had been set up on the floor of the high school gymnasium, helping as a unified partner for one of the competitors. Their adult grandchildren were there too as volunteers for the event as well as 15 members of the Penn College wrestling team.
What wasn’t there was members of the community, other than family, coming to cheer on these athletes as they compete.
“We have three courts and we’re hoping to grow it to five courts. We can get five courts down there, and it’s just kind of now starting to pick up. And the word getting out there, we’d like to see that whole stadium filled full of people,” she said.
RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent
Frank Schrade competes for Northumberland-Snyder counties in the 3rd Annual Chris “Magic Hands” Boyce Special Olympics Bocce Invitational at Williamsport Area High School on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. The tournament gives Special Olympians in Bocce from Lycoming and neighboring counties an opportunity to compete locally.
“You know, it’s nice for this rural area, because our surrounding counties don’t have the opportunity, like the bigger Allentown and all those places where they have places to go and compete that you don’t have to drive for a long distance. So this way it’s kind of central. The good thing about this Invitational is, it’s actually the first competition before, really the kickoff season of the Bocce season, so they all get to come here and just practice and compete and have fun,” she said.
Rhonda said she would encourage parents to have their children of any age at least try Bocce to see if it’s something they might like.
“It’s just a fun activity to do, and it’s not hard to learn and the kids are all great here, kids, I’d say, anywhere from young to older, just great to get together and have a good time and compete,” she said.
Bocce is also being offered at some of the local schools as a unified competitive sport, sponsored by Special Olympics.
