If you think the Y is only a place to swim and exercise your body, you’re missing out on the many other fun activities to explore. The Westside Family YMCA has been welcoming in members with its community space that allows the opportunity for members to congregate, sit and chat over a cup of coffee, and discuss daily topics with peers.
Two of our Active Older Adult (AOA) friends, Joseph Corrente and Scott Srikoulabouth, have been members for nearly a decade now. In that span, they have become good friends. Their one connecting piece? Billiards.
Scott shared how Joseph taught him how to play the game back when the former first became a YMCA member in 2016. What Joseph may not have realized is that he was bringing along a fellow foreign-born member with the game. Joseph is a native of Itay who has been living in the US since 1965, while Scott made his way to the Western Hemisphere when he left his home country of Laos in 1981.
While it’s all about the friendly competition between the two, companionship is much more important than earning wins and losses.
“I get to see friends here almost every day,” said Joseph, who is 88. “And I love to play pool because I played when I was a teenager. It’s great to play the game with friends.”
Jokingly, Scott cut Joseph off to say, “That’s not my friend, he’s my enemy,” during their high-stakes game of what is known by many as pool. But in all seriousness, he wanted to credit Joseph for teaching him the game of billiards.
"He’s very good at pool, I must admit. But I also always let him know he’s a grandpa,” said Scott jokingly, who is Joseph’s junior by 13 years at age 75. “He’s a good sport about it.”
Between the trash talk and the jokes, Scott shared how nice it has been to be a YMCA member. He said it’s not solely the enjoyment of playing the game of billiards when he visits the Westside branch, though.
“I play pickleball, I play pool. Pickleball is what I’m best at, but pool is definitely my No. 2,” said Scott. “I work out in the Wellness Center, I swim. I love everything here.”
Two men, from worlds over 5,000 miles away from each other, brought together by a US pastime here in one of our branches. Simply put, that’s the power of the Y.