TRAMPOLINE (2013)
St. Louis Park Magazine
http://slpmag.com/article/elliott-royce/st-louis-park-senior-citizen-conquers-trampoline
St. Louis Park Senior Citizen Conquers the Trampoline
Local senior and trampoline expert has a bounce in his step.
St. Louis Park Magazine
http://slpmag.com/article/elliott-royce/st-louis-park-senior-citizen-conquers-trampoline
St. Louis Park Senior Citizen Conquers the Trampoline
Local senior and trampoline expert has a bounce in his step.
Coach Pat Henderson watches as Elliott Royce catches air at the Minnesota Twisters gym.
PHOTO BY: AMANDA GAHLER
Every child knows the drill: When you fall down, brush yourself off and get back up. Elliott Royce of St. Louis Park may be far past his childhood years, but he puts this old adage into practice on a regular basis.
At the age of 94, Royce is the oldest student at his trampoline gym in Minnetonka, where he is learning the art of falling safely to minimize injury in the years ahead.
About 10 years ago, Royce learned the greatest safety risk for senior citizens is falling. He realized every kid knows how to fall and regularly gets practice doing so, but senior citizens are often only coached on preventing falls and don’t get much practice in the act itself.
So he traveled all the way to Hawaii to take a class on the art of falling safely, and then put his new skills to use locally at the Minnesota Twisters trampoline gym. Today, Royce visits the gym three times a week and does additional work at home on an air mattress. “I do falling, every day,” he says.
Since his trip to Hawaii, he estimates he’s done around 8,000 safe falls. Royce’s routine starts at home with some morning stretching, then at the gym he does a series of knee-to-belly drops, jump roping and his newest feat, the backdrop.
On the trampoline, “you use every single part of your body,” he says. Pat Henderson, Royce’s coach and an Olympic gymnastics trainer, explains that trampoline jumping has many health benefits, including improved stability, cleansing the lymphatic system, increased flexibility, and improved cardiovascular capacity and posture. “Get your legs up, Elliott! Get your arms up and your belly up,” Royce says to himself as he prepares for a backdrop. “There’s so many things to think about,” he adds. “Fortunately, I have many years to work it out. And I don’t care how many times I fall; that’s part of it.”
Royce’s positive attitude at the gym extends to other areas of his life. After living in a retirement home for a few years, he decided he wanted to move to his own apartment near Excelsior and Grand because he missed the everyday hustle and bustle. Now he walks, bikes and takes the bus on a regular basis. “I gave up driving at 85 and I haven’t missed the car one bit,” he says. Locals often recognize him around town on his recumbent bicycle, which he takes on the Cedar Lake Trail to the trampoline gym during the summer months.
Judy Goldetsky, executive director at Doorstep Healthcare, an organization that brings dental care to nursing homes, where Royce is a board member, describes him as “a role model for what a senior citizen should be—staying engaged in life and with people, ever interested in learning new things and doing new things.”
According to his daughter Cindy, Royce decided to learn a few new things at age 55, including commercial real estate and the recorder, followed by the tuba. Although he’s retired as a pharmacist and commercial real estate agent, he currently works at Byerly’s, where he’s the oldest of 4,000 employees in the chain. He was a pilot and flight instructor during World War II and still has the travel bug today, often flying to Israel to visit family or traveling around the country to help at his grandson’s art shows.
“He’s just an incredible guy, and encouragement for all of us,” says Jim Rhodes, a long-time friend and St. Louis Park Rotary member. Royce recently joined the Rotary as the oldest newest member and has brought in more new members than anyone in the past year, according to Rhodes. “He talks to everyone, that’s his strength,” he says. “And he’s always looking for an adventure,” adds Henderson.
There’s an old rumor that in Royce’s early days as a pilot he flew under the Washington Avenue Bridge near the University of Minnesota. Although he denies this, his family and friends like to believe that it’s possible, because for Elliott Royce, nothing seems impossible.
His next big goal? Reaching age 100. “When I get to be 100, I’m going to do a flip,” hesays.@More information about classes and programs at minnesotatwisters.com
PHOTO BY: AMANDA GAHLER
Every child knows the drill: When you fall down, brush yourself off and get back up. Elliott Royce of St. Louis Park may be far past his childhood years, but he puts this old adage into practice on a regular basis.
At the age of 94, Royce is the oldest student at his trampoline gym in Minnetonka, where he is learning the art of falling safely to minimize injury in the years ahead.
About 10 years ago, Royce learned the greatest safety risk for senior citizens is falling. He realized every kid knows how to fall and regularly gets practice doing so, but senior citizens are often only coached on preventing falls and don’t get much practice in the act itself.
So he traveled all the way to Hawaii to take a class on the art of falling safely, and then put his new skills to use locally at the Minnesota Twisters trampoline gym. Today, Royce visits the gym three times a week and does additional work at home on an air mattress. “I do falling, every day,” he says.
Since his trip to Hawaii, he estimates he’s done around 8,000 safe falls. Royce’s routine starts at home with some morning stretching, then at the gym he does a series of knee-to-belly drops, jump roping and his newest feat, the backdrop.
On the trampoline, “you use every single part of your body,” he says. Pat Henderson, Royce’s coach and an Olympic gymnastics trainer, explains that trampoline jumping has many health benefits, including improved stability, cleansing the lymphatic system, increased flexibility, and improved cardiovascular capacity and posture. “Get your legs up, Elliott! Get your arms up and your belly up,” Royce says to himself as he prepares for a backdrop. “There’s so many things to think about,” he adds. “Fortunately, I have many years to work it out. And I don’t care how many times I fall; that’s part of it.”
Royce’s positive attitude at the gym extends to other areas of his life. After living in a retirement home for a few years, he decided he wanted to move to his own apartment near Excelsior and Grand because he missed the everyday hustle and bustle. Now he walks, bikes and takes the bus on a regular basis. “I gave up driving at 85 and I haven’t missed the car one bit,” he says. Locals often recognize him around town on his recumbent bicycle, which he takes on the Cedar Lake Trail to the trampoline gym during the summer months.
Judy Goldetsky, executive director at Doorstep Healthcare, an organization that brings dental care to nursing homes, where Royce is a board member, describes him as “a role model for what a senior citizen should be—staying engaged in life and with people, ever interested in learning new things and doing new things.”
According to his daughter Cindy, Royce decided to learn a few new things at age 55, including commercial real estate and the recorder, followed by the tuba. Although he’s retired as a pharmacist and commercial real estate agent, he currently works at Byerly’s, where he’s the oldest of 4,000 employees in the chain. He was a pilot and flight instructor during World War II and still has the travel bug today, often flying to Israel to visit family or traveling around the country to help at his grandson’s art shows.
“He’s just an incredible guy, and encouragement for all of us,” says Jim Rhodes, a long-time friend and St. Louis Park Rotary member. Royce recently joined the Rotary as the oldest newest member and has brought in more new members than anyone in the past year, according to Rhodes. “He talks to everyone, that’s his strength,” he says. “And he’s always looking for an adventure,” adds Henderson.
There’s an old rumor that in Royce’s early days as a pilot he flew under the Washington Avenue Bridge near the University of Minnesota. Although he denies this, his family and friends like to believe that it’s possible, because for Elliott Royce, nothing seems impossible.
His next big goal? Reaching age 100. “When I get to be 100, I’m going to do a flip,” hesays.@More information about classes and programs at minnesotatwisters.com