This Tennis Pro Helps Older Adults Stay Mobile

Senior tennis pro and coach Arthur Carrington Jr. has in recent years tailored his instruction methods for older adults in senior centers and assisted living communities in Massachusetts to help improve their mobility and reduce falls, reports Next Avenue . His lessons typically start with Carrington attaching a diagram of the infinity symbol to the tennis net and having participants trace the shape in the air with one hand, then the other, then both. They are encouraged to practice this motion with ribbon wands, a medicine ball, and maracas as part of a combined physics/kinesiology regimen. Carrington learned that waving ribbon wands and moving maracas to a reggae beat helped players maintain balance and move rhythmically, and applying these exercises to older adults can help them avoid falls. The local Council on Aging's Brendan Rogers and Kim Jensen lauded Carrington, noting he "has a vision to use his experience to help seniors understand how to hold and move themselves in space to promote confidence, balance, awareness, and flexibility."