March 2025 Athlete of the Month
By Del Moon, NSGA Storyteller
Treba Young, 60
Eric Young, 62
Mobile, Alabama
Photo courtesy Eric & Treba Young.
Many older adults find recreation and sports are a healthy way to pursue an active life with social connections. For Treba and Eric Young of Mobile, Alabama, Senior Games has opened a new vista for enjoying sports they knew and exploring nearly a dozen new ones.
“We used to play tennis, and as a couple that didn’t work out very well. We had to start driving separate cars,” Treba says with a laugh. “We would still come home together, but we found that cycling is a bigger social sport for us.”
“I picked up cycling because tennis was hard on the knees. Plus, you get to see more of nature, and more of the world,” Eric adds. There is a small controversy about which got the other off the court and onto the bike saddle seven years ago. “That’s still left up to debate, because I think I started riding first, and I pulled her in. We got our new bikes at the same time.”
Treba’s reply? “I have a fever, and I’ve drug him along.”
The couple have been doing things together for as long as they can remember. “We met as children in the same church, and they provided track and field, basketball and volleyball, and I played softball with my father growing up as a teenager,” Eric, 64, recalls. Taking up cycling after retiring from 35 years as an educator and working part-time helped Treba stay active and make new friends. She was the first of the two to take up competitive cycling and won the state criterium championship in 2020. She wanted more.
The pair also joined the Major Taylor Cycling Club of Alabama, which participates in community and charity rides around the state, such as the recent 51-mile ride from Selma to Montgomery to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the famous Civil Rights march.
“The club noticed that I was racing and competing, and they wanted to have a Red Tails Race Team, which is a tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen. I became one of the founding members of the team,” Treba says proudly. “Before this, there was no bike racing team in Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, Tuskegee or the surrounding area. We are inspiring people of all backgrounds to train hard, improve fitness, develop skills, enjoy the process and race their bikes!”
That led the Youngs to the Alabama Senior Olympics, where both medaled and qualified for the National Senior Games. They competed in Fort Lauderdale in 2022 and have since regularly traveled to other State Games in Louisiana and Mississippi. They had to withdraw from going to Pittsburgh in 2023 due to a last-minute work commitment, but the Youngs fully expect to be in Des Moines for the 2025 National Senior Games presented by Humana.
The Youngs participate in 7-10 sports each year at the Alabama Senior Olympics. Photos courtesy Alabama Senior Olympics.
Expanding Their Sports Horizon
The Youngs also found opportunities to try several other sports besides cycling at State Games and have a full schedule of play for Des Moines. They qualified in Cycling and Pickleball, and both have added Open Sports that do not require qualifying, including Cornhole, Powerlifting and the One Mile Road Race. Treba will also take on the Basketball Shooting Skills competition.
“We planned to take longer to see more things and be part of walking into the Celebration of Athletes with our state,” Eric says. “Then we realized we will have time to do some sports that were open.” There’s no fear of failing at new things with either athlete, and they like the encouraging environment at Senior Games. “You never know what you’re going to be great at, but you’re not going to know if you never do it. Of course you want to win, but my goal is to participate and finish, and what happens in between is okay.”
Photo courtesy Alabama Senior Olympics.
Treba’s enthusiasm and supportive attitude earned an invitation from Alabama Senior Olympics to serve on their board of directors. “Volunteering has definitely been a part of my nature. We’ve done a lot to help in the community as part of Alabama Power’s Alabama Service Organization. I think Deanna Pack asked me to be on the board because often I’m able to see solutions and I always try to communicate in a positive way. I see something good in things first.”
Eric enjoys having new sports challenges and appreciates the need to keep moving. “I am a larger guy, and football was my sport in school. I watched my father retire and do nothing. But when you stay inactive, you have health problems. I do have a few small health issues, and I don’t want them to be the determining factor in my life and I have to stay home, or I can’t do this, or I can’t do that. The goal is to stay active.”
“We’re planning part of our retirement around Senior Games,” Eric continues. “Cycling is one of those things that you can do throughout the country. There’s a great community, and the Senior Games are an open avenue for meeting people and making great friends from all over.”
