By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
Del Rio’s new Silver Sneakers League is welcoming women of different ages who enjoy shooting some hoops.
The Silver Sneakers met up on Saturday at the Joe Ramos Gym to play a half-court game for an hour. The league was created by Sandra Fuentes, a Del Rio businesswoman best known as a co-chair of The Border Organization, a local activist group.
Fuentes said she formed the league to bring together older women who enjoy basketball or who have never played basketball and always wanted to try it out.
The league began meeting together six weeks ago, and since then, they have met up three times at the Joe Ramos Gym where they play regular half-court games.
Fuentes said she started this because of her love for playing basketball in high school and college and playing with her children and grandchildren while coaching for the Boys & Girls Club of Del Rio.
“I love the game so much, and I’m sure there are other women out there who love it as well, or maybe they never played it, but they are still athletic. So I tried it out, and I put out an ad and got some responses,” Fuentes said.
Irma Balderas was one of the women who attended the league’s meet-up on Saturday. Balderas said this was her second time playing with the league.
Rosa Prestridge said Saturday was her first outing with the team. Prestridge also mentioned she had previously played soccer and was new to basketball.
“(Basketball) is a lot faster, and the players are a lot closer to you,” Prestridge said. “It is a lot more fast-paced.”
Fuentes said she hopes the word gets out about the Silver Sneakers. Fuentes also said they hope to meet up every two weeks, and with more women showing up, she hopes they will form a camaraderie when playing together.
The league’s next games are scheduled July 27 at the Joe Ramos Gym from 2 to 4 p.m.
For more information, call Fuentes at 830-313-2813.
