Paralympic Boccia

Look past the wheelchairs, the unusual ramps, the pointers attached to heads and the various communication devices that are all part of Paralympic Boccia. Concentrate instead on the eyes of the participants. Look deeply into those eyes that reflect the magnitude of their hearts. Once seen, everything else fades away.

Olga Barth has those eyes. They draw you in deeply. Adopted at four, the now 14-year-old from Russia was drawn to the game despite cerebral palsy’s toll on her. At seven, she began to play through the Capper Foundation in Topeka. Quickly, her father, Randy Barth, could see that OE or O, as she is called, “was very competitive and wants to win.”

Inside the gymnasium at Blue Valley High School in Olathe on Saturday, April 30, that sense of wanting to compete and win was echoed by other competitors. Jon Lancaster, a Vietnam veteran, lost both of his lower legs, not in combat but from years of smoking as a cross-country semi-truck driver.

“I enjoy the competition,” Lancaster said. “I enjoy getting together with the others, but damn, I am lucky. There are so many that have overcome more struggles than me.”

Bryan Lohmeyer suffered a stroke two years ago that partially paralyzed his right arm and leg. On Saturday, he sat amid the teams gathered around center court happily chatting with a teammate he had just defeated in their first match.

“I love the competition,” Lohmeyer said. “I thought I was done, though. It has been a struggle learning to do everything with my left hand.”

Such proclamations bring joy to the life of Cathy Drobny.

“This sport is so powerful. As a coach, our challenge is to introduce this sport to a competitor and see them grow into an athlete, which is amazing,” Drobny said. Her hope is the Blue Springs event will eventually lead athletes to national championships and the Paralympic Games. The optimistic Drobny happily said, “We are open to what the future holds.”

A member of the USA Boccia Board, Drobny helped plan the Blue Valley event and served as the head referee for the tournament. Her goal in life is to attract new competitors and teach them the game played on a court six meters by 10-meters with a 2.5-meter launch area.

One competitor throws a white “jack” ball that sets the target for alternating throws of six balls each that follow. Just like retirees playing shuffleboard in Florida, the object is to get as many balls as close to the white jack ball as possible to score more than your opponent. 

Competitors who cannot throw the ball launch their shots with a pointer attached to the head or held in the mouth. A teammate and ramp operator help set this up based on the competitor’s directions. However, that person cannot watch the shot or communicate with the competitor.

Drobny quoted her husband Bill’s assessment of the mind of a successful player, “They must have the patience of a hunter, the precision of a pool player and the strategy of an archer.”

Oh, and a friend added, “the heart of a champion.”

That leads back to O, a player who consistently displayed all those traits.

Randy and Katie Barth are the parents of four grown children. Along with O, the Barth’s adopted her sister Hanna from China. The 14-year-old competes in Special Olympics Track & Field. Both girls brought the couple new challenges along with even greater awareness.

“With both these girls’ special needs, we thought they were only capable of this or that,” Randy said. “Well, we realized don’t put too many restrictions on your expectations for them. The things those kids get us into, we just shake our heads and say, ‘well, here we go.'”

To learn more about Boccia, go to www.usaboccia.org