Growing up on the West Side of Chicago, Rob Bady shared a love of basketball along with his brother, Ray Bady, who is only one 12 months youthful.
Now 54 and 53, respectively, the brothers are nonetheless taking part in basketball, most just lately on opposing groups in the Hoops for the Ages Tournament on Saturday, April 27, at the Robert Crown Community Center.
“It was a hard-fought game, but it was fun,” mentioned Rob Bady after his staff, Slow and Steady, scored a win over his brother’s staff, VKM All Stars.
The victory could be the second in a 3-recreation win streak for Slow and Steady, incomes them a gold medal.
More than 300 women and men, ages 40 and up, participated in the single-day 3-on-3 tournament, which is the Illinois state qualifier for the 2025 National Senior Games in Des Moines, Iowa. The NSG, a 19-sport, biennial competitors for women and men 50 and over, is the largest certified multi-sport occasion in the world for seniors.
Hoops for the Ages — introduced by the City of Evanston, Levy Senior Center Foundation and Illinois Senior Games — welcomed 30 males’s groups at Robert Crown and 10 girls’s groups at Levy Center. Teams had been grouped by age: 40-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79 and 80 plus. The high three groups in every age bracket obtained gold, silver and bronze medals – qualifying 140 gamers for the National Games. Because eligibility for NSG begins at age 50, the 40-49 groups won’t compete in Des Moines.
Rob Bady co-chaired the occasion with Cathy Wilson, a participant in the 65-69 division. Bady mentioned the tournament was opened to gamers 40-plus, “because we want to introduce them to basketball for life.”
Wilson mentioned it was their third 12 months organizing the occasion, together with a committee of eight different volunteers, half of whom serve on the Levy Senior Center Foundation board.
“It’s just great,” Wilson mentioned. “Our goal is to keep people active playing basketball. … We’ve got people who are 90 years old; we have some [in their] 40s here. So, we’re trying to get the 40s used to playing senior ball.”
Edwina Dennis, 90, performed in the tournament on the Chicago North Stars, with gamers youthful than herself. Tournament guidelines permit gamers to “play down” in different age brackets.
More than just a few individuals mentioned that older gamers function function fashions for youthful gamers.
“They’re all excited,” Wilson mentioned about the girls’s 40-49 division. “They say they are very inspired by the older players. That’s what we all want to be. We want to be vertical and playing basketball for as long as we can.”
Hooked on hoops
Arne Duncan, who served as U.S. Secretary of Education and chief government of the Chicago Public Schools, performed on Bady’s Slow & Steady staff in the 50-54 division. Having performed basketball for so long as he can keep in mind, Duncan mentioned, “I’ll play till I drop. I know how lucky I am to be out here. You see some of these older guys out here. It’s really inspirational to see them. It’s pretty amazing.”
His spouse, Karen Duncan, was amongst the spectators cheering on the groups. She mentioned it was her husband’s first time taking part in in the tournament.
“But I’ve been watching him play, and his teammates, for 30-plus years, and I’m just glad that they’re still out here,” she mentioned. ” … Yes, they transfer a bit of in a different way, however they’re nonetheless taking part in for the love of the recreation. … I believe it’s a terrific factor that every one these individuals are right here, having fun with one thing and doing one thing nice for themselves and for their our bodies.”
Although the degree of play and competitors range, occasions like Hoops for the Ages show basketball is a sport that may be loved by individuals of a wide range of ages and talent ranges. Some, like Duncan, Wilson and Bady, have performed basketball all through their lives, together with in faculty. Others began taking part in a lot later in life.
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Gold medal winners Second City Storm (left to proper): Therese McGuire, MVP Cathy Wilson, Randi Stern, Joan Habinek and Jill Twery. Credit: Heidi Randhava -
Evanston Stragglers coach and participant Anita Barfield (left) and MVP Lee Hart have fun a win after “playing down” from their 55-59 age bracket. The key to getting older in movement? “Keep moving,” mentioned coach Barfield. Credit: Heidi Randhava -
Teammates in the 80+ division – (left to proper) Neil Milbert, Timothy Roeder, Alan Denenberg and Bob Swedlow – take timeout for a photograph. Credit: Heidi Randhava -
Friends and teammates Ken Mitchell (left) and Vince Stefanelli heat up for their first recreation. Credit: Heidi Randhava -
Some of the gamers from six completely different Milwaukee groups, organized by Walt Love (kneeling in the heart) collect at the picture wall at Robert Crown. Credit: Heidi Randhava -
Competition and camaraderie had been considerable at Robert Crown. Credit: Heidi Randhava -
Windy City Storm and Chicago Lake Shore Drives vie for a gold medal. Credit: Heidi Randhava -
Two of the 30 males’s groups compete at Robert Crown. Credit: Heidi Randhava -
Chicago North Stars and Windy City Storm members assist one another in a pleasant, however fierce, competitors. Credit: Heidi Randhava -
The Stragglers (blue jerseys) play a youthful, 40-49 age group staff. Credit: Heidi Randhava
“We’ve got a lot of ladies in the 60-65 age group and above,” mentioned Wilson, “who were in high school before Title IX, so they didn’t have this opportunity. … Some high schools had [women’s] sports, some didn’t. It was the luck of the draw.”
Hoops participant Christie Bowman mentioned she has been taking part in basketball 3 times every week for extra than 20 years, not beginning till age 50, when she enrolled in a basketball class.
Hoops for the Ages committee member Dorrance Halverson, 80, is a Levy Senior Center Foundation board member who performed in the males’s competitors. He mentioned he performed basketball “as a kid,” however stopped doing so in maturity. “I restarted when I was 40,” mentioned Halverson. When requested how he feels about “aging in motion,” Halverson mentioned, “I think it’s a wonderful thing, and I’ve been doing it for 23 years at the Levy Center.”
No matter their age, or after they began taking part in, Hoops individuals are dedicated to staying lively. Rob Bady mentioned he resists unfavourable views on getting older, and as a substitute focuses on “aging well.”
The spirit of competitors and camaraderie are intently intertwined at the Hoops tournaments. Ken Mitchell and Vince Stefanelli play on a staff named I like Indiana, which incorporates gamers from Indiana and Illinois.
“We just play for the fun of it and for the camaraderie with each other,” mentioned Mitchell, including, “We haven’t played our first game yet, but we expect to win.”
Teammates are, above all, supportive of one another, and their fellow athletes. Many had been fast to acknowledge that accidents can take longer to heal, and that it’s pure to decelerate as you age.
Dennis Spooner, a teammate of Halverson, supplied his tackle getting older in movement:“I get tired,” he mentioned with a smile and fun.
Eric Miller, who performs in the 65-69 age bracket, mentioned it was his second 12 months taking part in on the J-Town staff. He competed along with his teammates in the 2023 National Senior Games in Pittsburgh. He mentioned the idea of older adults taking part in aggressive basketball “is all new and exciting to me because I didn’t know anybody did this at this age. It renews my youth.”
Rob Bady mentioned he’s now wanting ahead to the 2025 National Games in Des Moines.
“Midwest, here we come,” he mentioned.