Bocce’s ball is rolling. The RHS bocce ball team remains undefeated, looking to stay that way as they wrap up their season.

The first game of the season took place Dec. 17 against Gaithersburg HS, where RHS was victorious, with a final score of 2-1. The team, made up of both boys and girls, was enthusiastic about their first win and eager to play their best at their games to come.

“Bocce ball is kinda like horseshoes,” junior Heather Townsend-Gray said. “There is a small ball that is rolled out and then we take the larger balls and try to get the closest we can to the smaller one.”

Bocce is one of three corollary sports at RHS. Corollary sports give students with disabilities the opportunity to play varsity sports alongside students without disabilities. A student who participates in another varsity sport may not join the bocce ball team for they are on an advanced athletic level which can serve as an unfair advantage.

Watching all of the kids work as hard as they can and have fun while doing it is very rewarding for coach Phil Barnes. Barnes said he has a special place in his heart for this group having grown up with an aunt with severe disabilities.

“It is nice for me to be able to have an opportunity to work with kids with disabilities a�� they get a chance to feel like they are part of a team as well as part of the school,” Barnes said.

Barnes recognizes the challenges of successfully playing bocce. “There is lots of luck involved in the game a�� no rhyme or reason to it,” Barnes said.

Ten students are participating in bocce ball this year, and each of them contributes to the team’s final score in games.

Senior Julia Ramos, who scored the first point for the RHS team, has been participating in bocce ball since she entered high school.

“It’s fun to play with friends and it’s easy a�� It’s my senior year and the last time I can play since I am 18,” Ramos said.

After participants turn 19 they can no longer take part in this sport, although some students with disabilities further their education at RHS until they are 21. Ramos is doing what she can to make the best of her last year on the team.

The Rams bocce ball team will go up against Richard Montgomery HS, who are also undefeated on Jan. 23.