#50for50: Volume 31
▪️ Dominick Fogle
▪️ 17 years old
▪️ Westmoreland County
“Last year, we started up our Unified Bocce team at Franklin Regional Senior High School. I had known a lot about the sport because my mom taught me about it and we also played it in gym class. Once we started playing it, our team was actually really good. We went 2-1 in the regular season and then we won the wild card game with Deer Lake. We cleaned house in that one. We were close to beating Baldwin but got our butts handed to us by Fox Chapel. That was our first season, so I think fourth place was actually pretty good for us. After our first win against Norwin, me and my friends were like the most popular kids in school that day. It’s like everybody was talking about our match. … My friend Jordan, he can really get the crowd going. I remember last year the basketball team came to watch us play and the whole entire crowd was chanting ‘Jor-dan, Jor-dan’ and then at another bocce meet, I was the captain for the game and the whole entire crowd was chanting ‘captain’ for me. I would say my favorite thing besides winning gold medals is hanging out with my friends. And I’m a very competitive person, so when our bocce team was playing, I was basically like Bill Cowher trying to coach everybody. … In track and field, I do the 400 meter dash and the shot put. My favorite moment would be in our last championship race, I was the only runner for Franklin Regional. And it was a home meet and I ended up winning the race. When I came out of Turn 4, the whole entire stadium was cheering for me. I was just so focused on my race, I didn’t really feel much. At that point, I was thinking ‘Oh gosh, they’re catching up, I better start kicking on the extra boosters.’ … I’ve got a trophy case from track and field and bowling. I got five gold medals last year. I’ve been bowling with Special Olympics since 2016, but I’ve been bowling with SNAP (Special Needs Athletic Programs) even longer. Every Thursday night during the fall we’ll go down and bowl two games. I also play baseball for the Miracle League in Western PA. I play left field and I hit about 10 home runs last year. My friend also plays for the same team and he plays shortstop. They like to call us the 1-2 combo. … We’re trying really hard to become a Unified National Champion School. I think that we’ll do it. It is pretty much a Unified atmosphere. One year, we got to pie our principal in front of the whole entire school because we raised so much money for the Pittsburgh Polar Plunge. … Right now, my plans are once I graduate I’m thinking about getting a job at Hoss’s or Giant Eagle. My mom and my sister work at Hoss’s, so sometimes they’ll have me dress up as the Hoss Man. That’s their mascot. That and going to speed tracks are what I like to do in my free time. And hang out with my cat, Cleopatra.”
