February 2025 Team of the Month
By Del Moon, NSGA Storyteller
Left to right: Regina Trimboli, Hilda Reedom, Clare O’Neill, Lori Powers, June Walton, Jody Rajcula, Karen Smith and Laurie Bliss. Photo courtesy Regina Trimboli.
Legendary UCLA Men’s Basketball Coach John Wooden once famously said, “If you want to watch pure basketball, watch the women play.” If you want to watch women play Basketball in the National Senior Games, look no further than the Connecticut Classics 2.
Team sports present special challenges for groups to be consistently competitive in the National Senior Games. Teams often need to attract players from different states to fill a roster. People come and go due to injury or changing age divisions. And, perhaps most importantly, there has to be passion for the game and a strong team leader to hold it all together.
The Connecticut Classics 2 team found the right elements to not only win, but also grow and stay closely knitted since 2012. Also known as “Big Red,” the Classics have an incredible record of 65 gold medals and one silver, including five National Senior Games titles. At the 2023 National Senior Games presented by Humana, the Classics dominated the 65+ division with a 7-0 tournament record and an average margin of victory of 29 points. In 2024, the team was inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
The roster is extraordinary with many players touting college and professional experience. Four ladies played in the Women’s Basketball League (WBL), the first U.S. women’s professional basketball league that existed in the late ‘70s, including Lynn Chiavaro, Karen Aulenbacher Heintz, Jody Rajcula and Karen Smith. Heintz helped her Houston Angels team win a championship in 1977, and Smith was on the 1980 New York Stars title champions. Another Classic, June Walton, played professionally in England and Venezuela. That’s some firepower.
“We started with a core of five players in 2012, and the additions have been a unanimous team decision to bring in the right player at the right time. Often it was a player inviting a friend they knew or played with before,” Team Captain Jean Trimboli says. “I kinda found senior basketball on my own. After following the kids through college, I felt that desire to play again.”
Talent, Chemistry and Leadership
Jean is the glue that keeps things organized for this high-powered group of athletes. “I love organizing,” she says. “I had five kids, and I once single-handedly ran a basketball program that had 700 kids in it, so it was second nature to take on the reins.”
Lori Powers takes a shot during the 2023 National Senior Games presented by Humana in Pittsburgh, PA.
In addition to managing this team of several elite players, there are also no less than eight who have coached basketball – five at the college level. Yet, Jean says there are no issues with egos, a common source of division for a team.
The team talks in unison about how they see themselves. “We’ve all been trailblazers for our whole life fighting for Title IX. We were sophomores when it came about,” says Karen Smith. “At first we had uniforms that were T-shirts with athletic tape for the numbers. It’s come a long way since then.”
Jean gives two main reasons why the team has been stable for so long. “Well, bottom line, the best part is winning,” she says with a laugh. “But there’s more to it. Our team is like an extended family of sisters that have the same passion and the competitiveness to keep going as long as we can.”
Jody Rajcula is thankful after a long career as a coach and player to continue to enjoy the team dynamic. “Our bodies are allowing us to do this, and we try to take care of ourselves,” she notes. “The other thing is there’s something about team sport, that it builds camaraderie and allows us to be successful in life because you have to work together to achieve a higher goal. It’s all the things that we like to instill in young people as coaches and now we’re able to participate again at a different level.”
Pioneers Cheer the Growth of Women’s Sports
The ladies emphasize that there was always talent but not many paths for females to advance during their developmental years, and all are excited to see the rise in women’s basketball and sports in general. “When I played at Montclair State my teammate Carol Blazejowski scored 40 points every game,” Karen Smith observes. “So when they talk about Caitlin Clark getting 40 points here and there I smile. I’m happy there’s a lot more opportunities for young girls to compete and improve their skills, and when that happens the entire product improves all the way up.”
The Classics are proud of the roles they have played and to see that women’s basketball has retained its style. “The game has changed a little bit, but not all that much,” Karen Aulenbacher Heintz opines. “I think they still share the ball for the most part. I think that’s been consistent about the women’s game.”
John Wooden would be pleased.
