Tony Schneble of Niskayuna, 89, still has a pretty good arm.

Schneble, a resident at the Ellis Hospital Residential and Rehabilitation Center, swings, bats, catches fly balls, and pitches every couple of weeks in the nursing home’s recreation area with the help of a Nintendo Wii (pronounced “we”) home video game console. It has a wireless controller called a Wii remote, which can be used as a handheld pointing device.

“Come on Tony, you can hit one,” a resident cheered.

“You can do it, Tony,” yelled another.

“It’s challenging,” admitted Schneble, who recalled playing baseball as a kid, “especially when you’re at bat. “Mostly you’re either too early or too late with your swing.”

“We’ve bowled on it, too,” he added. “That’s a lot of fun, too.”

Recent acquisition

Residents at the nursing home have had the Wii for the past several weeks, said Laurie Bach, administrator.

“It really does provide a realistic experience whether it’s baseball, tennis or bowling,” said Bach. “Many of our residents have played these activities throughout their lives, so now they can continue.”

Bach said residents who choose not to play can participate by clapping and cheering.

“They really encourage the residents who play,” said Bach.

Residents play about once every one to two weeks as part of their regular activity schedule. Usually eight to 10 residents play or cheer others on.

Baseball and bowling are the most popular games.

“As more seniors are becoming more technology savvy, they want to keep up with their grandkids,” said Bach. “They’re learning how to surf the Internet, use cellphones and MP3 players.”

Some of the residents live at the nursing home while others are there for short-term rehabilitation therapy.

“They may have had pneumonia and been lying in a hospital bed for a couple of weeks,” said Bach. “You get weak. So in order for people to transition from the hospital to home, they come here for about a month to get physical and occupational therapy.”

Bach said the first time residents played baseball and bowling, several of them talked about playing the actual games when they were younger.

“They asked each other what their averages where and what leagues they played in,” said Bach. “It really stimulated a lot of conversation.”

Studies also show that Wii helps with range of motion, balance and hand-eye coordination.

“It’s also fun,” said Camille DelMonico, 87, who lives in Schenectady and was spending a month in the nursing home recovering from a broken ankle and heel.

“It makes you feel like you’re a real baseball player. I enjoy it. You just have to remember to swing at the ball. It’s good exercise, too.”

At 98, resident Henry Youngs never misses an activity. He especially enjoyed the Wii baseball game, he said.

“I played baseball as a young man,” Youngs recalled. “I did pretty well. I played with a minor league team in Schenectady.”

Youngs also enjoyed sprint car racing, wrestling and boxing when he was young.

“I like the new Wii game, even though it takes a little while to get the hang of it,” said Youngs. “It’s fun and good exercise.”

Christie Sardella, activities aide, said the residents feel like they are at a real game when they play Wii.

“It gets your mind going and you’re cheering,” said Sardella. “It’s a whole sensory experience.”

Charlene Felix, activities aide, said most of the residents tell her they love playing Wii.

“It’s something different for them,” she said. “And it gets them talking about how they used to play baseball when they were kids. They seem to enjoy the pitching the most. I think that’s the easiest. They just have to swing their arms back.”

Multiple benefits

Richard Lehmann, activities director, said he thinks the Wii game helps residents on a number of levels.

“Contrary to what a lot of people think, older people really do like new challenges, and this is a new challenge,” said Lehmann. “It fascinates them.”

Lehmann said it also helps bring back long-forgotten memories.

“If you can tie that all in, it becomes very meaningful to them,” he said.

Some of the folks prefer to sit and watch and root for people who are playing, Lehmann explained.

“Like anything, it’s a new skill and you have to learn. I’ve only been fairly successful at it. These guys are doing better than I did,” Lehmann said with a laugh.

“We are very happy to have it,” he added. “Our next venture will be into Wii fishing. We think our residents will enjoy that, too.”