Family And Friends
As Robert (Bob) Covelle of Covelle & Covelle, Public Accountant in Stoneham, MA, reveals, Italy, like many other countries in Europe, is known for cultivating a lesser known sport that in the summer months across Europe can be seen being played in parks all over the continent. In England, they call it boules, in France petanque, and in Italy, bocce. It is a sport that has had its rules refined and cultivated over thousands of years of playing by Europeans, and thankfully was brought over to the US by Italian immigrants who were among the first wave of immigrants to reach the New World. Today, it is still practiced by many Italian- American communities, who relish the sport as much as a social occasion to spend time with family and friends than as a competitive rivalry.
Robert Covelle is an Italian-American sports enthusiast, who takes every opportunity to play the competitive leagues in bocce within his community. As part of the Italian-American Citizens Club in Malden, MA, Bob Covelle has followed in the footsteps of his father, who also passionately played the sport. Indeed, it was his father who originated the team within the club’s league. For Bob Covelle, one of the best things about bocce is that it gives him a chance to spend valuable time with family members and friends. He is the captain of the team COVELLE, started by his father, who play in the Italian-American league at a very competitive level. The team is made up of Bob himself, his best friend, his son, nephew and his best friend. They are a tight knit team, who have played some memorable matches in their time – tasting the bitter ashes of defeat as well as drinking deeply from the bowl of victory.
So how exactly does bocce work? As Covelle & Covelle on Facebook elaborates, in principle it is fairly simple. The aim is to throw the metal balls as close to the small yellow ball, or the ‘pill’, in order to achieve points for the team. The more balls one team has closer to he pill, the more points they gain. It is a hugely addictive sport, and requires skill, tactics and composure to help get the best results.
Bob Covelle is an extremely competent player, and as the captain enjoys going first to set the standard. Setting the first throw is important as it can dictate the course of the rest of the game. Twenty nine other teams compete in the league, and whilst team COVELLE are not number one, they are certainly up there with the best.