Progress Park Bocce: Rolling Through the Seasons in Dogpatch

If you live near Progress Park in Dogpatch, you may have noticed a lively gathering of prosciutto-loving locals or heard the knock of a heavy bocce ball against a backboard on Sunday afternoons. Since 2021, the Dogpatch Bocce League attracted dozens of people to a competitive, but friendly, sport.

League founder, Adam Gould, loves all things bocce. After the long-running Embarcadero-based Ferry Bocce League dwindled during the pandemic, he founded the Dogpatch League. Four years later, it’s thriving, with eleven teams tossing bocce across three seasons annually.

The league is a diverse mix of Alvarado Elementary School parents, Dogpatch Saloon regulars, and diehard competitors hailing from Bayview, Mission Bay, and Potrero Hill. Only two people are needed for a game, with four required to compete in a tournament. League champions are Slow Your Roll,with Dirty Rollers, a team of well-practiced moms, emerging as formidable opponents.

A game is played until one team reaches 13 points or ends at the top of the hour with the highest-score taking the win. Points are notched by rolling the bocce – a large ball – as close as possible to the pelino; a single tiny white ball. 

A fall game between Slow Your Roll and the newer Progress Park Players showcased how competitive a match can get in the one-hour playtime. Progress Park Players made an impressive comeback after falling behind, winning in the game’s final minutes. A specialized tool to measure distances between the pelino and bocce had to come out to make a tight call. 

Convivial smack talk is commonplace during heated games. Spouses find themselves on opposing teams, Adam and his wife, Joanna, are frequent court rivals. 

Dogpatch Saloon is known for its rattling battle cry yelped around the brick meditation labyrinth under Interstate 280 before each game. It doesn’t come unwarranted. Inside Dogpatch Saloon, the bar, a collection of their tournament trophies are displayed on the bar. Each award is a bespoke creation, designed by Gould. He hunts down vintage bocce memorabilia and transforms it into an enviable tournament prize. 

The league knows how to have a good time. Each game officiant – referee – sets the mood with a playlist and blasts a digital air horn when a team achieves a rare four-point frame, the maximum score. At tournaments, Gould ensures players are nourished with the “Three Italian Ps’ – prosciutto, Peroni, and Prosecco.” 

Gould is raising money to install shade structures along the court, a $25,000 project.

“Progress Park is a lovely place to bring your kids, it’s maintained by the Green Benefit District and there are loads of flora and fauna, there’s exercise equipment and plenty of room for kids to play while the parents play Bocce,” said Gould. The League “…is a material amount of activity a Progress Park. I think it justifies building a permanent structure so that the people who are participating in 20+ weekends of bocce can shade themselves from the sun.” 

Gould volunteers to schedule matches and distribute a weekly newsletter while adding personal touches like a custom scoreboard adorned with tournament plaques, fostering a sense of camaraderie among league members. The league is accepting new teams, with the next season beginning in March. It’s $150 to register a team with a minimum of two people who can commit to showing up at Progress Park on Sundays.