VISTA — Susanna Rheim chucks a bocce ball over a faux grass bocce court in the backyard of Downstown, a nonprofit group home in Vista that provides safe and supportive living for adults with developmental disabilities.
Rheim, a resident of Downstown, has nine years of bocce experience and rolls out the red carpet at Thursday night’s game, where athletes and volunteers practice their underhand throws, sip sodas and socialize.
Sports for Exceptional Athletes, or S4EA, a San Diego-based program serving individuals with developmental disabilities, hosts practices throughout the county for various sports, including bocce. The practice was recently relocated to Downstown, where many of the athletes live.
For athletes like Rheim, who has played sports all her life, S4EA is not only a way to socialize but also an outlet.
“I like it because it takes stress off of me,” she says. “Three of my grandparents passed away, and it was like lightning striking me really bad. So, I just take it out [with sports].”
S4EA also offers higher-intensity sports such as soccer, basketball and volleyball, which is Rheim’s favorite.
“Bocce is a fairly passive sport, and it works great for our lower athletes,” Executive Director Walter Jackson says.
To play bocce, players roll eight balls — four on each team — as close as possible to a smaller ball, known as the pallino, on a lawn or bocce court. The team with the balls closest to the pallino scores 1-4 points, and the team with 12 points wins the game.
S4EA provides accommodations for athletes who may need them, including ramps for wheelchair users and volunteers who assist with ball tosses for those with limited arm use. All sports are inclusive, allowing athletes with and without disabilities to play on the same team.
Larry Woodson, another athlete who has played multiple sports for S4EA and in the Special Olympics, says he has found a home in the community.
“All these people who are here are my friends. When I serve and I hit for my team, I get us extra points,” Woodson says.
Jackson’s passion for helping people with disabilities began 50 years ago while he was in the Navy during the Vietnam War, when he was invited to attend a track meet for people with mental disabilities.
“I fell in love with our athletes with developmental disabilities,” Jackson says. “Our athletes are much more open; they will express their feelings, whereas most of the rest of society hides their true feelings.”
Jackson and Associate Director Clara Downes founded S4EA in 2007 after serving for years as staff members and volunteers with the Special Olympics.
“We had a difference of opinion,” Downes says of leaving the Special Olympics. Along with some parents of athletes, Downes “wanted a more local say in what was going on.”
In its first few weeks, S4EA received more than $40,000 in donations from supporters, according to Jackson.
Although North County’s bocce practice is not lacking in athletes, it draws fewer participants than its South County counterpart and has a greater need for volunteers.
“The problem is, I don’t have the good connections in North County that I have here in [South County],” Jackson says.
Vista’s bocce coach, Corie Sonnenberg, travels from Temecula every Thursday to help with the games and says the drive is worth it.
“I like the camaraderie of meeting them and giving back to something in society besides yourself,” Sonnenberg says.
Practices are seasonal and subject to change. For updates on practice schedules and current S4EA news, visit https://www.s4ea.org/news. For information on volunteering, visit https://www.s4ea.org/support-us.
