Athlete at any age

 

I have never had any qualms talking about the candles on my birthday cake. It looks like a bonfire. 70 is a bunch. It doesn’t bother me.

Some may argue, but I consider myself an athlete. You’ve heard probably too much about it. Bicycle. CrossFit. Yoga. I played basketball until I was 59. Going snow skiing tomorrow.

No one could argue that my buddy Ken Bell is an athlete. Just chase him down a hill on a mountain bike and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Years ago, I introduced him to rock climbing. He immediately climbed easily something I struggled to climb.

We did a tennis clinic one time. He and I started at the bottom end of the group. By the second day, he was on the first court. I stayed on the lower end. He has always been that kind of an athlete. And he still is that kind of athlete.

His kids are too. His oldest is a beast on a bicycle. His second was an All-American high jumper and can still jump out of the gym. His third was a late bloomer but is definitely athletic. His youngest could have done anything athletic he wanted to.

Retired pediatrician Dr. Charlie Raper is still running longer distances than you and I can imagine. It hasn’t been that long since he ran the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim.  He’s an athlete.

Bill Carl and Caroline Haynes will beat much younger people at tennis on any given day. They’re definitely athletes.

I’ve talked about pickleball a time or two. I’m not really interested in playing but I do know that a lot of people are playing that have never played anything. That’s a good thing.

Anything that gets people out and active is a good thing. And I can tell you that there are a lot of people on those pickleball courts. I will show up at John Sevier with my grandson to play tennis and we might be the only people on the tennis courts but there will be a line of people waiting to play pickleball.

It seems to be a game that just about anybody can play and enjoy.  And that’s a big part of it—if you enjoy something, you’re more likely to stick with it.

So, here’s the (loaded) question: If you’re not on a team or competing, are you an athlete? Of course you are. Athletes come in all shapes, sizes, and ages.

If you’re moving your body in a skilled fashion, I would consider you an athlete. Dr. Jim Gillespie, local senior golfer extraordinaire?  Of course, he’s an athlete. He might not run a mile, but he can hit a golf ball that will fly far enough that you think they’re going to sell inflight movies.

Emil Herran, who will ride a bicycle more miles in a year than most people will ride in their lifetime?  Sure, he’s an athlete.  You don’t have to break records or win championships to be an athlete.

What does that mean in the long run? I think it means a longer, healthier life. It means that you can do ordinary things like climb stairs and get up and down from the couch easily for a whole lot longer.

Sir Isaac Newton’s first law of physics says that “a body in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted on by an external force.” I believe more and more each day that is true for all of us as well.

So, fight through the tough days. Get up. Get out. Move. You don’t have to join a gym or run a marathon.