LEOMINSTER – Bocce is an old game, with certain forms dating as far back as the Roman Empire.
It also has strong roots in Leominster’s Italian-American community.
For more than four decades, people have gathered at the Foggia Social Club on North Main Street to make friends and play bocce. Generations have been raised under the club’s roof, where the game has become a lifestyle.
The club also serves as the home base for “Those Guys,” a four-man bocce squad that recently saw a top-five finish in one of the sport’s largest tournaments: the World Series of Bocce at the Toccolana Club in Rome, New York.
“(Bocce) is a way of life, it’s in our blood,” said Nick DeCarolis, one of the aformentioned four and a club regular. “The game, it’s just part of who we are.”
Simple on the surface, the game can prove extremely complex. According to the United States Bocce Federation, the game is played on an 86.92 feet by 13.12 feet track between two teams of one, two, three or four players that each “bowl” four large balls toward a smaller ball known as the jack, pallino or pill.
The goal of the game is to land as many balls as close to the jack as possible to score points. Teams can also knock opposing balls away from the jack, adding an extra layer of strategy.
Since 1981, club regulars have made the nearly four-hour trip to Rome to participate in the three-day tournament, which started back in 1975 and has gone on every year since (save for a two-year hiatus in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19). Bocce players from around the world attend the competition.
No local team had ever had a showing quite like “Those Guys,” however.
Made up of DeCarolis, 38, “Uncle Vic” Szewczyk, 71, and the father-son duo of Mike and Joey “Loops” Owen, 64 and 19, respectively, “Those Guys” placed fifth of the nearly 100 teams to participate in the double-elimination tournament that ran from July 14 to July 17. Each has an extensive history with the game.
DeCarolis grew up with a bocce court in his backyard and picked the game up around 5-years-old. Szewczyk, meanwhile, got involved in the management of the FSC after he retired in 2009 and has played regularly ever since.
Mike Owen, a bowler by trade, picked up the game 20-years-ago, while Joey Owen “grew up” at the FSC, watching his father play before picking the game up at 13-years-old.
Each play on separate teams throughout the FSC’s summer and winter leagues, but the group quickly came together to field a new squad just days before the tournament. And, while they believed in their collective ability, even they – and the FSC at large – were surprised by their success.
“We thought, if we can just win one, that would be great,” DeCarolis said. “And we did, but then we just kept going – it was crazy.”
“As a team, we came in and nobody knew who we were,” Szewczyk said. “They had no idea what to expect and we played lights out.”
The quartet won five straight contests, a club record, before they were knocked out on back-to-back losses, one of which came against the eventual champions. In the highly competitive space, each of the four agreed that it was the camaraderie and bond between members of the FSC that spurred them on.
“The reason we did so well was the support of our club members and friends,” Szewczyk said. “This whole place, it runs on our friendships, the camaraderie between the people that are here every Friday – it’s truly something special.”
“We beat one team after a close game and everyone rushed the court. I was already in awe but, after that, we just got this rush of adrenaline – the bonding, the love of our friends and community of so many years that went into that, it was just a special moment,” he said.
“We’re competitive (at the FSC), but, in Rome, it was all about the club, our identity,” DeCarolis said. “After we won our first game, they pushed us to sort of elevate our play and keep going.”
“When you play there, you have to be locked in – we were definitely underestimated,” he said.
For their trouble, the team more than recouped their $250 entry fee. They were awarded $800 for their finish, while the first, second, third and fourth place finishers were awarded $8,000, $4,000, $2,500 and $1,600, respectively.
But, for “Those Guys,” the tournament was about more than the prize money; it was about the authentic Italian experience.
“The food, the people, the culture, the whole experience just felt very authentic,” DeCarolis said. Szewczyk said it was “incredible, just a wonderful experience.”
“I’m 71-years-old and done a lot of things and had a lot of fun in life. But this, I can honestly say it was one of the most exhilarating times of my whole life,” he said.
The team plan to play with each other again at next year’s tournament, Rome’s 48th World Series of Bocce. While they might not be the next year’s “Cinderella,” DeCarolis said they would return “humble and ready to have some fun.”
In the meantime, they invited anyone and everyone, regardless of their cultural background or familiarity with the game, to come down to the FSC, play some bocce and make some new friends.
“The game is just fun – and we want to share that fun with everyone,” DeCarolis said. “So come down – we play every Friday – and, even if you don’t know how to play, we’ll make it work.”
“Come to the Foggia Club,” Szewczyk said. “It’s open to everyone, there’s a lot of wonderful people here – you’ll have a great time playing bocce and make friendships that last a lifetime.”
