Racing the Wind: Seventy-Seven and Still Playing Full-Court, Fast-Break Basketball

The benefits have been huge and I believe will continue to be in the future. I am in excellent health. I am still able to compete against much younger athletes. I do not feel old. Quite the opposite I don’t feel much different today than I did 50 years ago. Many of the players I play with have made the comment, “I don’t know how you do it.” I have written this book to describe what I have done and continue to do “to do it.”

This book will be of value to men and women who are interested in their health and well being over the course of their lives.

At this point, I should tell you that I am 77 years old, and I have been an athlete for almost all of those years. I am in excellent condition. I am still able to compete competitively with much younger athletes. I have a young mental outlook. I do not take any prescription drugs. My overall health is excellent. I enjoy life. I love to compete. I believe all of these attributes are directly related to my athletics and my physical conditioning.

The term athletic longevity certainly applies. On any demographic table I fall in the oldest category. I have played the game of basketball since the 1940’s. I love the game and am still able to compete with and against good players in full court fast break games. By almost any standards the game I play in is usually a high-quality game with a lot of very good players. Some would be considered outstanding by any measure and are among the best in our city. This is Indiana basketball. Most of these players are in their 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s. To be able to do this I have had to continually upgrade my game and my training.

My life has been greatly enhanced. I do not feel much different mentally now than I did decades ago. I have a great deal of energy and I am healthier now in a general sense than I have ever been. Through athletics and the conditioning needed to play them I have an athletic body. I consider the guys I play with to be my peer group. They are fun to be around. The gifts I have received through athletics and physical conditioning have not only helped me attain and enjoy good health, they have helped me through some very difficult periods in my life as well. As the years have gone by I have become increasingly aware that having good health is far more important than having money or owning nice things. Everything else pales into obscurity when compared with your health.

I would encourage every person to get involved in a sport and/or a conditioning program involving high aerobic activity, strength, balance, coordination, and suppleness. Your physical and mental capabilities will be greatly enhanced throughout your life. I have found that athletics have not only brought me great joy they have truly been a gift that keeps on giving. The earlier in life you begin the better off you will be.

Part of this book will also focus on some of the experiences that my wife has had to deal with and what we have learned from them. She is also an athlete through participation in step aerobics and weight training classes. She recently had to drop out for ten months due to a medical problem, but she has since returned to the aerobics portion. She has a long way to go to get back to where she was at. To her great credit she is trying.

In the first part of this book I will try to describe for you what I have found to be necessary to achieve the athletic longevity I have achieved. Later in the book I will try to relate how my wife, Pat, and I were helped in dealing with some real life experiences. In life you have to play the cards you are dealt.