Are you still an athlete?

[cbo111]

I just turned 61 and realized I am still competing in the same sport I loved as a kid, for over 45 years, which is kind of nice. I started playing tennis at 15 and my instructor was Bjorn Borg. I watched him on tv, then tried to mimic while hitting the backboard at high school. When I was a senior I decided to try out for the tennis team and beat the top kid rather easily. I continued playing in college and did tournaments for many years. I still play in USTA leagues, which are very competitive here in Bradenton/Sarasota.
My question to you athletes out there; are you still competing in your childhood sport and how's it going?

 

[Dawg52]

I started playing golf at 13 and still play today at 64. Many don't consider golfers as athletes and that's fine. I still enjoy playing however.

 

[cbo111]

Oh, golfers are athletes for sure. Just go to a pro golf event and walk along the players as they pulverize the ball. I followed Lexi Thompson for a couple holes at Templeton Challenge a couple years ago. She is a focused athlete and fit right in with the men. And hits it almost as far as the men!

 

[RunningBum]

I've run at least one marathon a year since 2008, and just signed up for my next one in August. I've had some health issues that have slowed me down the last couple of years but I'm working to get back in shape to qualify for Boston again. Very unlikely to make it this year but maybe I can qualify next year for 2021 or 2022. I still bristle a bit if someone calls me a jogger. I'm a runner, dammit!

 

[pb4uski]

Yes and no, probably more no than yes.

I played a lot of different sports as a youth and young adult... tennis, skiing (snow and water... hence pb4uski), softball, volleyball and others. I did take up golf when I was in my early 20s.

I gave up water-skiing regularly many years ago after my brother-in-law had a bad fall water skiing and got injured. I still snow skiied until a couple years ago once we started to snowbird (and miss it). I traded tennis for pickleball... the same fun with half the effort... but one needs to be careful of injuries in pickleball too.

I do golf much more than I ever have... prior to retirement I was generally in the 95-105 range and today regularly play bogey golf or better (85-95 usually, with a career best 79 on a par 72 course). One surprise is that even playing with a cart, my fitness watch indicates that I walk about 3.3-3.7 miles playing 18 holes... I also sometimes will walk 9 holes with a pull cart.

Until a couple years ago I would sometimes walk the front nine with a pull cart and take a cart for the more hilly back nine... if it is a cool day I'll consider it but on a hot, humid day... give me a cart.

 

[Lsbcal]

I gave up competition in my 50's. Why compete? If it gives you a lot of pleasure then great, keep it up.

The title "Are you still an athlete?" says nothing about competition. I've been a runner since high school cross country decades ago. Nowadays I just get out in the AM and do my runs in a beautiful state park on trails that are easier on the legs.

So maybe I should say I compete with myself to stay healthy and fit.

 

[stepford]

The title "Are you still an athlete?" says nothing about competition.

+100


I was a competitive athlete for a few years back in my '30s and always ended up maxed out and not having a lot of fun when in competition. Life got a lot more pleasant when I stopped competing (with anyone but myself). These days athletics are more and more of a competition against various injuries, but I'm still out there as much as I can be.

 

[HadEnuff]

Less and less so, unfortunately. Well, I was a good baseball player and then a very good softball player. In my mid 40s I gave up softball because I felt I could no longer protect myself at 3rd base from hard hit balls right at me that might bounce 10 feet in front of me.

Also, I kept pulling muscles running the bases.

I was a very good platform tennis player. Traveled a bit, played against nationally ranked teams. We never scared them, but at least we were good enough to be on the same court with them, if only to lose in straight sets.Then my back started bothering me, so I had to give that up.

I can still golf. I once carried a 5 handicap. Am now, at age 65, a 10. I have hopes of whittling that down a bit, but not likely to get much below an 8. And I have to play the shorter "old man" tees now.

I deluded myself into thinking I could be a pickleball player, amongst the older set. My first time on the court I ruptured my achilles tendon. That was 8 months ago. I am back to walking and golfing. I'm OK with it, but really, I don't feel very athletic anymore in the way I move.
Mostly I'm trying not to get hurt again.
Such is life, such is aging.

 

[corn18]

Still powerlifting at age 53, but no longer compete. Love throwing around some iron.

 

[pb4uski]

Not sure if it counts but I still sail competitively .... while I would classify the real competitive sailors like America's Cup as athletes... especially with the speed of today's AC50 hydrofoiling yachts.... the agility bar to avoid falling out of a Sunfish, even during a race, isn't very high (but one of my competitors managed to pull off that feat during a race last summer).

P.S. The new AC75 hydrofoiling monohull looks interesting.... should be fun to watch.

 

[6miths]

Reminds me of one of the funnier ad libs I ever witnessed. A 50-something college instructor lecturing on cardiac physiology was asked by a student during the lecture, 'If you were an athlete, would such and such be true?'. Without missing a beat, "What do you mean, 'if?'"

Still play ice hockey twice a week Sept to April and tournaments with guys younger than my kids. Tennis in the summer. The main competition is to survive especially in the former sport!

 

[Dtail]

Well was the captain of my basketball HS team, but had to give up the sport at 40 due to an ACL injury.
So play Pickleball now in a competitive environment and loving it.

 

[Corporateburnout]

I'm 65. I played basketball and volleyball in my teens and twenties but then I started playing tennis in my 30's and I still play in doubles leagues only. I also played in USTA summer leagues for a few years but stopped enjoying it as some players take it very seriously. I enjoy the friendly competition at the club level with similar level players.

I find that the older I get the longer it takes my body to recover from a 2 hour match....

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

Ran cross country in high school and will be running 3 miles tomorrow morning with my daughter.

 

[Souschef]

I skied for about 20 years until an unfortunate accident cut short my sport. I was never great, but have a NASTAR pin, a sliver ski from Sun Valley, and a 3rd place finish in a race.
Now at the age of 80, just climbing up and down on the switch engine for a few hours sends me looking for the ADVIL

 

[Jerry1]

I’m so far from it, it’s embarrassing. To the point I’m starting to do something about it. I used to swim in high school. I wasn’t great, but I held my own and the team did pretty good. I even did the butterfly in the 200 medley.

DW and I were in a pool at I’m so stiff I couldn’t even get a breath doing a freestyle stroke. Seriously, I could barely swim at all. I’ve hit the pool since and am working on my flexibility. Not where I need to be yet to be able to say I can swim, but doing better. To me, swimming is doing freestyle laps in the pool. I’ve swam a mile before and I can’t even do a full lap yet (there and back with a turn). Still too stiff to turn my head and get a breath without struggling to keep my stroke. Going to meet with a personal trainer on Tuesday for advice. Might sign up for a yoga class too.

 

[robnplunder]

I have been an athlete all my life. My main sports was boxing which I trained from age 10. I was coached by a former national team coach. I retired from my boxing career at age 22 after realizing I don't have the talent to become a world class boxer. Obviously, this is not a sport you can enjoy well into old age.



Instead of boxing, I continue to play my other sport, soccer, through major injuries (dislocated left shoulder, broken right shoulder bone, broken ankle). I played pretty even with younger kids, still playing at forward position and scoring/passing well until age 35. Then the decline in my reflex, stamina, and speed caught up with my playing. Soccer being a team sport and forward being a very unforgiving position, I hung on to my soccer career by playing in lower, and lower division until my pride won't allow to play anymore. That was around when I was 48 years old.



I started playing golf after the last soccer game I played at age 48. I still enjoy it but it is really an activity which does not need much athleticism.

 

[tmm99]

Indoor volleyball for me since junior high. We were #2 regionally once. I have been playing much more since I retired because I have the time and I can take naps if I do too much and need more recovery time. I do mainly Coed leagues and tourneys and I play with much younger players, but I’m a setter so it’s doable. This year I found a circle of great female players who are my age and I will be playing the Huntsman Senior World Games with them for the first time.

Why compete? Because it’s fun. Tossing the ball just for fun has its place but getting into a serious game is so much fun. I love competing. I get into a totally different mind set with sharp focus. Nothing more pleasurable than everyone playing well (or at a similar level) and rallies lasting long and us beating the other team at the end!

Vball is currently my number one hobby and I’m so glad I have the time to be able do it as much as I do now that I’m retired. I probably only have about 5 years left at most to play at this level if that (it can get very intense) so I’m going to enjoy it as much as I can until I can’t do it anymore and drop it down to a more recreational level.

 

[braumeister]

I still bristle a bit if someone calls me a jogger. I'm a runner, dammit!

I think that's wonderful, and at your pace you're right to think so.

I used to be a runner, but now I consider myself just a jogger. Did several marathons and a whole lot of halfs (never better than upper third of my age group), but these days I'm happy with my 5-6 mile jog around the neighborhood 3-4 times a week. Definitely not an athlete, but still enjoying the exercise.

 

[Bir48die]

Have always been an "athlete" which in my definition doesn't have to encompass an organized sport. I have narrowed down some of the activities due to age and injuries. Many of the sports have fallen out of favor like racquetball that I did in the earlier years. Running stopped after two knee scopes. So, over time I have just altered my activities which now focus on the gym and the golf course.

However, I am an extreme athlete when it comes to barroom games. Though I'm not as good with foosball as I used to be, I am competitive in billiards and shuffleboard. If you want to go outside and drink then I am pretty dang good at cornhole and ladder toss.

 

[Rustic23]

Went to college on a track scholarship. Now I am down to walking!

 

[mystang52]

Now at age 66 I consider myself an "athlete" but I don't think I can say I'm STILL an athlete. I was never athletically talented, although I played all of the sandlot sports as a kid. I was always one of the last to be picked for a team
As an adult I was in a men's softball league where I didn't embarrass myself. Alas, whatever non-embarrassing skills I had disappeared by my late 50's so I retired. I now regularly swim, run, and cycle. I do all 3 slowly but I'm still plugging away.

 

[RE2Boys]

My question to you athletes out there; are you still competing in your childhood sport and how's it going?

Competing? No
Participating? Casually

Started running cross country in HS. Have never really stopped running, be it road racing, trail running, marathons, and now I'd classify myself as a jogger. Last marathon was at age 43 (primarily due to training was very time consuming and wanted to do other things). By age 48 pretty much stopped competing in road races as would rather spend time with my infant sons. In my 50s some knee issues cropped up and in early 60s a bad case of Achilles tendonosis ended any serious running, it took over two years before I could even jog again without pain. Now, though at one time I hated to be called a jogger, I'm truly a 70year old jogger. Three trail miles is my limit, and I do take walking breaks at that.

Once was an avid snow skier (and Ski Patroller) but somewhat lost interest in my mid-40s. Picked it up again when teaching my sons to ski when they were in middle school, but now I go once or twice a year. Nothing in western PA and NY is challenging.

In mid-40s, got into backpacking a lot but as described above, knees and Achilles tendon problem in my 60s had limited the miles I can cover but I'm game to get back into it.

Never was a serious cyclist but once the weather gets to about 60 and above, it's my main exercise activity. At least 15 miles per session, work into my hilly course, then extend that route out to 20+ mile workouts.

And I hate gyms and indoor workouts.

 

[Alan]

Started playing the fool at grade school and continue to play the fool today.

 

[imoldernu]

Re: the title...Not, "still"
But a chance to brag.

Back then, backstroke:
1953High School All-American Swim Team... 2nd.
1954 High School All-American Swim Team... 1st.

1956 NCAA All-American Swim Team (as a jr.) ... 4th.
1957 NCAA All-American Swim Team (sr. yr.)... 2nd.

Thru H.S and college, held pool records in 38 schools and Boy's Clubs in New England, some that lasted until the mid 1970's.

(sigh) since leaving Florida in 2012, haven't been in a pool.

Gimme a break... Not first in anything today.