15 Years of Bocce in Castro Valley

The Castro Valley Bocce Group has evolved into a group of people ranging in age from quite young to well into the nineties. For the most part, many of them never knew each other's names until they started playing bocce together. 

It was a cold winter’s morning in 2009 when a small group of seven local folks gathered at the Adobe Park on San Miguel Avenue. 

They gazed at the two beautiful regulation-sized bocce courts, recently completed under the guidance of Castro Valley resident Ken Martin. 

Bocce is an Italian game with eight weighted balls aimed at a smaller target ball or pallino. Points are earned by rolling your balls closer to the pallino than your opponent.

“My father used to play it... it’s an Italian thing,” Castro Valley Bocce Group member Al Bronzini told the Forum. “We gravitate toward each other. We have lunch together; we play bocce together. Socializing is a big part of it. Many of us live alone. We are widowers or widows. And what would we be doing without this outlet? It’s been a cure-all for a lot of people.” 

The original plan called for horseshoe pits, but Martin convinced the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District (H.A.R.D.) that bocce would be a better alternative. Horseshoes are too heavy for many people to throw, excluding many from participating. Martin added that bocce can be played by nearly anybody who can roll a ball, and H.A.R.D. listened and named the grounds the Ken Martin Bocce Courts at Adobe Park in 2015. 

Fifteen years later, the Castro Valley Bocce Group has evolved into a group of people ranging in age from quite young to well into the nineties. For the most part, many of them never knew each other's names until they started playing bocce together. 

“Today, we are one big, friendly family. We meet for Bocce and socialize every Wednesday and Saturday,” says Bronzini. “If you are new to the group, you will not feel like strangers for long.” 

Various organizations have held many fund-raiser tournaments at the courts. The Castro Valley group hosts two tournaments a year. The largest one is the George Mark Children's House fundraiser in June. The other was held last Saturday, September 14, which Martin calls the Appreciation Tournament. It consists of bocce, socializing, and a wonderful lunch to show appreciation for each other’s friendship and community. 

“All of the tournaments are fund-raisers for tax-free organizations such as the George Mark Children’s House and the Veterans of Foreign Wars,” Bronzini said. 

He adds that everyone of any age is welcome to join in the fun of bocce. They play each Wednesday and Saturday at 10 a.m.

“Keep them bocce balls rolling,” Bronzini says.