👋 Howdy folks!

It's been a while. We’re back with a new project to share.

BocceLabs began as a blog/social media channel to showcase proof of concept projects to the bocce community online. We took a break during 2024 and now have a new project to share.

The new project started in September as a proof of concept website for managing all things bocce aided by Copilot AI.

Think Bocce Command Center:

What started as an experiment quickly became something real: BocceHub.com, or as it’s now been re-branded, BocceLabs.com.

And because we had already collected a ton of venue and court data for BocceMap.com (shoutout to Dino, Gina, and the community who contributed to the GoogleMap for Bocce!), I was able to import that data directly into the hub.

My bocce teammate, Swapna Chandamuri, described BocceHub as a cross between LeagueApps and ScoreHolio.  Considering these are both popular websites in the bocceverse, it appeared as if I was onto something.

Late September as a new Ohio league approached, things got shaken up.

Eager to share my work, I posted a screenshot on the dormant BocceLabs instagram.

Michael from Bocce Broadcast Network (BBN) took notice and asked if I could track stats for the Ohio Bocce League (OBL) and pipe them straight into Open Broadcast Software (OBS) for live streams of the OBL.

I’d been yearning for stakeholders and Michael Scialdone (BBN/OBL founder) was the perfect partner.  In mere weeks I developed the BocceLabs+BBN integration and went live for Week 1 of the OBL at Lorenzino’s Bocce Club in Youngstown, Ohio.

Watching stats appear in real-time during the broadcast was super cool.  It gave players, broadcasters, and the audience something new.  Feedback was positive and encouraging, so I've kept going.

Of course, this is just the beginning. There’s a long (and growing) list of features and fixes ahead.

While in Youngstown, Ohio, Danny Catullo (cofounder of Ohio Bocce League) introduced me to Diane, Renee, and Linda who volunteered to collect stats on tablet computers during the league nights.  They offered suggestions on the iPad interface, and furthermore, they were willing to work through a couple bugs during OBL S1.  Huge shoutout to the trio as this wouldn't be possible without data collection.  It is 8 decisions per frame to input data which I'm sure is exhausting.

While networking with the players, I met Tony Donofrio, an OBL player for the Cleveland Hellhounds and fellow software developer.  Tony was eager to share expertise and has already made significant contributions for the webapp.

From left to right:

Dave Hoffman (me): An electrical/computer/software engineer living in Chicago, IL. Founder of BocceLabs blog and BocceHub/BocceLabs stats app.

Tony Donofrio: A software engineer living in Struthers, OH. Cofounder of BocceHub/BocceLabs stats app.

Michael Scialdone: Founder of Bocce Broadcast Network, Ohio Bocce League, and Chicago Bocce League splitting time between NY, OH, and IL.

If you’re curious, check out the the OBL on BBN and consider tuning in Mondays (tonight!) at 5:45 PM Eastern / 4:45 PM Central.

Head over to BocceLabs.com.

Don’t let Cloud, Storage, Database, and Compute hold us back from forward progress. If you get value from BocceLabs on the BBN, show your thanks with a small contribution.

We’re also looking for BocceLabs sponsors! Consider supporting us.

See you on the courts,
Dave
@boccelabs on instagram