Hooked on Bocce

For Mohawk Valley bocce players, staying active is part of the game

By Jolene Cleaver

On a recent July weekend in Rome, the breeze moved through the bocce courts as old friends greeted one another, team shirts filled the grounds and players stretched before stepping up to throw.

The occasion was the 52nd annual World Series of Bocce, where competition and camaraderie have long gone hand in hand.

For players such as Russell Johnson, 59, of Rome, and Bill Barnett, 57, a Rome native who now lives in Seneca Falls, staying active is part of the game.

And while bocce may not look like a traditional workout, the players know the value of staying limber, moving well and keeping at it.

For adults older than 55, that same approach can apply to exercise in general. Fitness doesn’t have to mean pushing to exhaustion. Consistency, strength, mobility, balance and recovery all play a role in helping people stay active and capable as they age.

Johnson, a member of the team “MONeY,” has been playing bocce every week for years.

“I have been playing 17 years. I started late. But a lot of these guys started out when they were in their teens,” he said.

Johnson discovered the sport in his late 30s while playing cards at the Toccolana Club in Rome where the annual World Series of Bocce is held every year. When he started hanging around the club, he remembers watching men in their 80s and 90s playing bocce. One day, he joined them.

He was hooked.

Now, from September to April each year, Johnson plays in three leagues each week around Central New York. He also travels to weekend tournaments across New York state.

He has been able to mentor younger players along the way.

And he has avoided injuries.

Johnson said bowling once caused a knee problem, but since pivoting to bocce he has not had the same trouble.

For Barnett, who was playing with his team, the “Dirtbox Cowboys,” staying limber is the trick.

“I play a lot. Other people play professionally or in a league,” Barnett said. When it comes to bocce, “I think instead of training, it’s more stretching so you don’t tear something or rip something.”

Barnett played in his first World Series more than 40 years ago.

“I figure I will drop dead on the court someday,” he joked.