COURTESY OF ERNIE BYLES
Byles and his wife Woan-Yi Byles
PINGPONG, continued from 5
The Maryland Senior Olympics came
to Byles’ attention a year after his cancer diagnosis. “It’s really hard to maintain While anyone can join NVTCC, the the discipline of exercising unless you membership is predominantly made up of have something you’re working toward. I older adults.The club sponsors five weekthought the games would be something ly drop-in practice sessions—Monday cool to aim for and train for,” he said. As through Thursday from 5 to 8:45 p.m.; he trained, however, Byles realized that his and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Arvision presented a problem. Due to eye lington’s Madison Community Center & surgery in his youth, it now took several Park—and newcomers are welcome.“We hours after awakening for his sight to stadon’t have formal coaching, but we have bilize.While competing at the National Sesome members who enjoy helping people nior Games, Byles would wake at 4 a.m. so learn the game,” Norwood said. that his vision would Each weekday be stable enough to at 9 a.m., a group “WHAT I REALIZED IS THAT play by 9 a.m.“What of men gathers at the James Lee Se- YOU HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE I realized is that you have to acknowledge nior Center in Falls YOUR LIMITATIONS your limitations but Church, Va., to play not accept that you pingpong. “There are limited by them are various ages and … So I began to lisskill levels, but they ten to the bounce of make it work. And the ball instead of foit gives them an opcusing on just seeing portunity to socialthe ball.That helped my timing.” ize.That’s one of the biggest draws—the Pingpong has been a game changer ability to socialize,” said Greg Williams, throughout Byles’ life. He and his three the center’s director. As Fairfax County’s brothers began playing as kids at the representative on the Northern Virginia YMCA in Kingston, Jamaica. “My Senior Olympics Committee, Williams mom wanted to keep us busy and off the encourages the players at his center to join streets,” he said. By 1973, when pingpong the competition. “Last year we had five diplomacy found its way to the Caribbean guys sign up, and they came back amazed, island, Byles had honed his skills to the saying, ‘Wow, we really can compete.’” point that he was one of 20 selected for This year’s table tennis competition is the national team.The work was hard—he Sept. 18 at the Charles Houston Recretrained four hours a day for four years— ation Center in Alexandria,Va.
BUT NOT ACCEPT THAT YOU ARE LIMITED BY THEM.”
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