News
Rye Brook Seniors have new pastime: video games
Manhattanville College hockey team teaches them Nintendo Wii tricks
12.14.2007
By Jeff Benzak
Cutting-edge video games are usually associated with teenagers, but thanks to the Manhattanville College hockey team, some Rye Brook senior citizens are turning into fans of the Nintendo Wii.
Back in October, a Manhattanville employee contacted Jean Gesoff, coordinator of senior services for the Anthony J. Posillipo Center. The employee, Devon Pacheco, said he was searching for community service opportunities for the young men on the hockey team.
The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.
Shortly before Pacheco’s initial contact, Gesoff had purchased the Nintendo Wii for the senior center. The Nintendo Wii – pronounced “Wee” – is the latest generation of video game consoles.
Gesoff had read in an issue of AARP Magazine that the console can be used to help seniors’ hand-eye coordination. Still, after she bought the system she was unsure how to incorporate it into an activity. In fact, Gesoff didn’t even know how to use it herself.
“We bought the Wii the same week I got the phone call from Devin,” she said. “I told him I knew something that might be a great intergenerational activity. …Timing-wise, it was just perfect.”
The first session was Oct. 30. The hockey players and seniors played various sports video games together – bowling, boxing, golf, tennis and softball. The gamers utilized paddles and gloves to control on-screen action. Compared with other video games, the Wii requires a fair amount of physical exertion.
Gesoff said some of the senior citizens recalled their own boxing days, and many still play golf and tennis.
“They feel that it’s realistic,” she said. “They get the same sensations.”
Right off the bat, the seniors and students hit it off. The students visit in groups of two or three about once a month, but they’re on winter break right now and won’t return until early January. In the meantime, the console sits mostly idle; the seniors enjoy playing with the kids, Gesoff said, but they have not yet taken up the activity on their own.
When the two groups are together, they get a long well. The men, young and old, treat the other as equals, and the women enjoy watching and participating too.
Sergiv Soroklat is a senior on the hockey team. He said he enjoys spending time with the seniors.
“This experience has taught me how important it is to incorporate giving back into my life,” he said. “I want to participate in volunteering even after I graduate.”
The console was purchased with funds from a donation given to the Posillipo Center, which is located at Garibaldi Place, from the family of a senior who recently celebrated a milestone birthday.
Gesoff said that in addition to the Manhattanville students, there are high school kids who volunteer at the center. “It’s like going to visit your grandparents,” she said.
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Matt Ruberto and Sergiv Soroklat of the Manhattanville College hockey team watch as Rye Brook senior Mel Klugman lunges into his first game of Nintendo Wii bowling at the Anthony J. Posillipo Center.