Spiking Seniors

Grandview Center helps seniors stay active

By Gail Martineau

Seniors at the Grandview Center like to volley, spike and bump.

Some 20 local seniors gather twice a week at the center at the corner of Goodale and Grandview avenues to get in shape and have fun while playing chair volleyball.

The team not only provides a social outlet for the seniors who participate, it also is a way to get fit and stay fit –something extremely important for aging adults, says Marlin Cheyney, who heads the chair volleyball team as a fitness instructor at the center.

“One thing you never think of is eyehand coordination,” she says. “(Volleyball) really helps you improve that and improve your balance.”

Cheyney never turns anyone away from the team. Walk-ins and new members – no matter their physical or mental conditions – are always welcome.

“Everyone has a place; that’s what keeps the momentum going,” she says.

Floyd Nice, 79, says chair volleyball has kept him going.

Five years ago, Nice had an operation on his heart to replace deteriorating valves. Now, he hardly can tell that he had the operation, he says.

“I love this place,” he says. “Soon, I’ll be 80, but I feel 29!”

Others echo his sentiment.

Bunny Brown, also 79, found the chair volleyball team as a way to keep herself active, especially after having a defibrillator installed a few years ago.

“I retired, sat and watched TV and said, ‘This is so stupid,’” she says. “I feel so much better.”

Chair volleyball is a lot harder than it sounds, says Marta Durban, senior recreation supervisor at the Grandview Center.

A group of active seniors gathers twice a week at the Grandview Center to play chair volleyball and stay active.

“You think it’s not challenging, but it is,” she says. “It’s more aerobic than you think.”

It’s important to develop physical strength and endurance, especially as an older adult, Durban says. Every movement and motion has a purpose.

In addition to the chair volleyball team, the center also offers strength training and other physical classes for seniors.

For more information, visit www. grandviewheights.org.

“We just focus on these people who come and want to work out,” Durban says.

Gail Martineau is editor. Feedback and comments welcome at gmartineau@ pubgroupltd.com.

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