Facility activity directors have to fish at times. They have to put together a plan for an activity that makes sense to them as professionals serving residents with high-acuity medical profiles and at the same time hope the activity is something these individuals like to do and look forward to doing.

Like a fishing expedition, sometimes the effort works well, and you catch something special and other times it does not gel, and you have to cast in another direction.

For this story, the fish are biting. Specifically, in Florida at the Debary Health and Rehab Center, activity director Teresa Conte is pleased that her idea for a unique World Cup experience excited residents. She didn’t invent the World Cup but instead shrunk it down to size.

The community sits in the I-4 corridor halfway between Daytona and Orlando, but for stretches of time over these past few weeks it might as well have been located at one of the World Cup sites in Canada, Mexico, or the United States.

But the world championships for soccer, err football, are just part of the sports programming at Debary.

Sports and More Sports

Overseen by LeRoy Cox Jr, the administrator at Debary, Conte developed the idea of bringing sports-themed programming into the facility last year because Active Games activities were not bringing many residents in, “and I needed something that would entice residents to participate.”

A soccer player and fan for life, she once overheard residents talking about a sports game that was on TV and how they were in teams and how fun that used to be, so Debary started Sports Teams.

“Last year we had a bowling league and a football league. The residents designed their team jerseys, mascot, and picked their own team captains, and it has been a hit ever since,” Conte said.

This season, she expanded the program to include World Cup happenings.

“We have incorporated this theme into many other activities as well, in Art History designing their own jersey, Trivia to learn about soccer, Current Events discussions around which countries are playing, and Reminiscing about taking their children and grandchildren to soccer practice and games,” Conte said.

The three-week event at Debary has concluded and involved real games, starting with team selection, naming of captains, and a tournament format.

“We added points at the end of each activity and kept score for every match, just like FIFA,” she said. “Some of our players may be turning 90, but they have been playing sports all of their life. It makes them feel young again,”

Real Games

A few residents were nervous about playing, so xxx explained that they would modify the game. “I reviewed basic soccer moves and the rules for our matches. Residents could either kick or throw the ball into the goal, and they could choose between a soft dog toy or a small soccer ball. This helped them feel more comfortable, and they played so well. At the end, we served chips and root beer to celebrate,” Conte said. 

The activity room doubles as the dining room, so before any competition starts the tables have to be moved. For the goal, a box was crafted, and a runner is used to act as fake grass. This is what creativity looks like.

“The games can go for 45 minutes,” she said.

In total, there were four teams made of four players each and staff acted as managers, referees, and took on other ancillary roles.

A number of residents also watched the real games on TV and cheered for their own nationalities in addition to the U.S. squad. Conte said the demographics of the facility lend itself to a “world” event with residents from Puerto Rico, Haiti, Thailand, Mexico, Honduras, and Korea, in addition to U.S.-born individuals.

She is pleased with the results and is looking ahead to the next sports team theme.

“I feel like this is my calling when things like this go so well. It is right where I want to be…”

Comments or questions on this article? Contact Patrick Connole at pconnole@parkplacelive.com.