Before this summer, it was not common for residents of Hempfield’s Alta Vita Drive to talk about anything.

That changed when an eight-story residential complex joined forces to build a bocce court.

John Marsh often plays bocce ball when he and his wife travel to Florida to escape the cold Pennsylvania winters, and he wanted his neighbors in Hempfield to try the game.

“We had a shuffleboard court here that nobody was using — that was never used,” said Marsh, 79. “I thought it might be fun to get a bocce court. There would be a lot more interest then.”

Marsh’s hunch was spot on.

In the spring, 24 residents signed up for a 15-week tournament on the course, sponsored by the homeowners association. One game was played each week, usually on Friday mornings.

The players were divided into teams of four, with a handful of substitutes on hand to step in if needed.

What started as relaxed fun turned into fierce competition, Marsh said.

“Every team has a colored T-shirt,” he said. “Of course, there’s all this talk – ‘Hey, we’re going to beat you’ and that kind of nonsense.”

The competition only became more intense as players and spectators began to pay attention to the standings, said Jim Perry.

Although it was the first time many residents had played bocce, they quickly took a liking to it, said 80-year-old Perry.

“By the end of the (season), I saw a metamorphosis in people,” he said. “Some guys who had never thrown a bocce ball in their life became rookie players of the year.”

Perry even committed to a training plan. During the season, he practiced almost every day to compete for his team Marsh Madness – named after his teammate Marsh.

“At 80, I feel full of energy,” he said. “I haven’t worked this hard since I was 55 or 60.”

Marsh Madness lost to their opponent, the Bocce Bombers, in the playoffs. But Perry was most excited about this opportunity.

“Since high school, I never thought I would compete for a championship,” he said with a laugh.

The community will celebrate its first bocce season on Monday with a banquet, including pizza, beer, chicken wings, a team plaque and plenty of joke prizes, Perry said. Residents will meet during the offseason to plan future tournaments.

But until bocce balls roll across the artificial turf field again, Marsh is sure of one thing: He will be more likely to recognize his neighbors.

“We really got to know other people in the building that we barely knew,” he said. “We really made a lot of nice friends, we had a lot of fun and people just come by to watch the other teams play.”

For Perry, there is no better time than the present to connect with his neighbors.

“We know that we cannot estimate whether we can achieve anything in the next few years,” he said. “But I know that we have brought a lot of joy.”