Ethel Lehmann, 84, Largo, Florida

Baseball was love at first sight from the time Ethel Lehmann was a little girl in New York sitting on her father’s shoulders, watching and cheering along as the hometown hero hit a home run. As a teen that memory resonated when she set softball records and was named team MVP as her proud father and uncles cheered her on. But times were different and her mother made her promise to quit sports at 21 because others thought “it was not feminine” for adult women to follow that path.

Keeping the promise was not difficult while raising five children, but the fire inside smoldered until the family moved to Florida and she found a ladies’ softball league in Clearwater. There were no senior women’s teams in Florida at the time but that didn’t stop Ethel. At 47, she was more than double the age of any of the other girls, but despite the challenge it gave her the chance to play her beloved game. She then joined a men’s senior softball club in Clearwater, breaking barriers again as the only woman on a roster.

When she was 75, she tagged along with her husband to try out for the famed Kids N’ Kubs Senior Softball Club in St. Petersburg. They became the first husband and wife player in the league’s eight decade history, which caught the attention of the NBC Today Show. But she still yearned to be part of “a league of her own.” When Ethel ran track in the 1993 National Senior Games she was excited to see women’s senior softball competition and resolved to form a team back home in Florida. In 1995, the Freedom Spirit made its national debut in The Games and 10 medals would follow. The team continues to roll.

Ethel’s example of passion, perseverance and commitment to keep fit has not escaped the attention of others.  In 2008 she was the first of six teammates to be inducted into the National Senior Softball Hall of Fame, and last year she was selected to be a “Humana Game Changer” for the 2013 National Senior Games Presented by Humana (story and video here.) But Ethel Lehmann values the chance to travel to tournaments, stay in shape and enjoy the company of others sharing the same interests as greater benefits than any medal or recognition.  She’s had her share of life challenges, but it’s clear from our chat that Ethel will never stop pursuing her Personal Best.

 

Glad we finally caught up. You are one busy 84 year old.

I’ve been very busy this week. My husband has dementia now so that takes a good bit of my time. And I’ve been helping my friend Shirley Smith move into an assisted living facility. Shirley and I co-founded the first senior women’s softball team in Florida together. She’s also in the National Senior Softball Hall of Fame, along with five others on my team. That’s a record. And I was the first one.

 

You are recognized as a pioneer in senior women’s softball. Have you played all of your life?

I always loved baseball.  I grew up in New York so I was a big Yankees fan. I’d listen on the radio and let out a yell when Joe DiMaggio would knock a homer. My Mom would tell me to quiet down, that I was bothering the neighbors.  And you know, I went to the movies where they used to show those short news films before the feature and I saw girls playing in a pro baseball league. I hoped somebody would tap me on the shoulder and say “Come on out and try out.” But I came from a poor family so we didn’t have the money for me to try out until I got older.

When I got my chance I played from age 16 to 21. I played shortstop in fast pitch for two years and then three years in a modified baseball league called the American Girls Baseball Conference – you know, like they did in “League of Their Own” with the pitcher throwing overhand.

But my Mom made me promise I would stop at 21. Years ago, that wasn’t very acceptable for a girl to be playing sports. I guess she was getting pressure from other people that it wasn’t very feminine.  And we were looked down upon.

 

Attitudes were quite different then, before the women’s rights movement and Title IX.

When I played basketball in high school I asked why we couldn’t play the full court. I was a guard and all I ever did was jump up and get the ball and just pass it to the ones who could shoot for the basket.  I was told that women’s lungs couldn’t handle running the full court, that we were built differently.  After high school, I joined the Hicksville Dodgerettes basketball team of the Long Island Womens Basketball League where we played the correct way on a full court. I was on the All Star team for two years.

 

 

There were no athletic scholarships for girls, or almost none. I was told about a very small scholarship I might have gotten back then but it wouldn’t have been enough for me to go to college. I’m just so happy to see that that has all changed in my lifetime. My granddaughter Lindsay won a scholarship in soccer.  She likes to run. It’s so nice to hear about girls getting that opportunity now.

 

So you kept your promise to stop sports at 21? When did you start playing softball again?

Yes, I stopped at 21 and didn’t do anything until after I got married and had five children in five years. When they were all little and had me running around there were days I felt like I had played a double header (laughs). So that was the end of that until I was older and we moved down to Florida.

I saw an ad in the paper from a man who was forming a softball team in the Clearwater recreation league, and noticed it said that age didn’t matter. It took me a while to get up enough nerve to call him. I told him I was 47 and old enough to be his mother. I played with girls much younger than me until I was 53. There was one who would always say ” I want to be just like Ethel when I grow up!” and I thought that was so funny. But when I told my family doctor that I slide into base and all that he warned me that I could break my back or break my leg. It did a job on me mentally so I gave up playing with the young gals.

But I just couldn’t resist the itch to go back. I guess I was a re-recycled athlete at around 61. I had the urge to play again but I found there were no senior women playing. So I became the only woman playing with the Three Score Men’s Slow Pitch Softball League for about five years – until I got a concussion. There was a pop fly and I ran up trying to do one of my 16 year old catches and boom! This big heavy guy crashed into me. Then a week later another guy ran into me from behind. Between those two things I wound up in the hospital for three days. That ended me playing with the men until I joined Kids ‘N Kubs with my husband at 75.

 

Wow. So when did you finally put together the Freedom Spirit senior women’s team?

The whole object was to form the team to get into the National Senior Games. I was training to run in the 5K Turkey Trot here in Clearwater in 1991 and a friend started talking about the National Senior Games and she convinced me to go qualify in the track and field events, which I did. When I was at Nationals I heard about the softball games and took a bus to watch. I couldn’t believe that there wasn’t a women’s team from Florida. From then on every time I went to a track event or went bowling I asked the more athletic looking ones if they also played softball. Some would say no, not since high school or college.  I made them write their numbers down and soon we got enough and started to practice.

We organized as the Freedom Spirit in 1993, and 1995 was our first Nationals. We started as a 55 plus team, went to 65, then to 70 and now we are a 75 plus women’s senior softball team. My teammates are exceptional. They are all great players. From 1995 when we started until 2013 we have had 3 Gold, 5 Silver and 2 Bronze. Not bad for one softball team.

 

It must be a good feeling to know you played a role in getting others together that share your love of the sport. I never thought that I would have so many friends and meet so many nice people. Our team always has a quick prayer before every game that no one gets hurt, and we always include the opposing team. The camaraderie among us is just exceptional. We all just get along so well.

 

Beyond the playing experience, what else do you like about going to the National Senior Games?

I tell you, there were ten of us in my family and we didn’t have much money to go anywhere.  I never dreamed that I would get to see the United States in my senior years, and the National Senior Games has allowed me to do that. We’ve gone to so many different states and we’re still going to new places. We always try to visit some of the important places in those cities.

Fitness is also very important part, and it’s also good mentally – I’m always looking ahead to two years from now and it just keeps me aware.  It helps me watch my weight and to exercise to try to be in the best physical shape I can get and to do the best that I can.

 

You must have friends and neighbors who are not very active. How do you try to motivate them?

I know people that don’t do anything and are putting on weight, and I try to tell them to just get up and do it. But I also tell them to first go and get checked out by your doctor. That’s what I did. When I was 50 and just after menopause, I weighed the most I ever had and felt very sluggish and tired.

I tell them my story of deciding that I just have to start walking and exercising more. The first day I started to jog and was huffing and puffing after just going three houses down the street. But the next day I went past four houses. And the next day I made it to the corner.  And before I knew it, I was jogging to the park a few blocks away. It might take you three or four months before you start feeling good about it.  But now I try to jog two or three times a week and I can usually go three miles all the way through the park and back again. On rainy or cold days I can go to a Silver Sneakers location nearby and do some upper body exercise and the treadmill. But if I don’t feel like I can do it I don’t push it. You have to listen to your body.

 

So, when you look back at it all, what would you say was your inspiration to keep going?

I talked about that in my Hall of Fame acceptance speech. Reflecting on my softball career and wondering when it all began, I realized how impressed I was as a small child sitting on the shoulders of my Dad to see what all the cheering and happy faces was about.  The baseball player had just hit a home run to win the town game, and it was implanted in my mind.  Then as a teenager I remember my Dad along with two uncles were in the crowd watching as I set a home run record in fast pitch softball. Three happy faces said it all and my love of softball grew greater.

I also have to say that I never thought it would be possible to still be playing softball in my senior years.  I couldn’t do it all without God giving me the ability to be healthy and do well all of these years. So I try to give back and do the best I can. I always tell people my love of sports and good health are gifts from God, and what I do with them is my gift to God.

Dr. Granville Coggs, 88, San Antonio, Texas

“I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.” – From Invictus by William Ernest Henry

When he thinks back over an eventful life, Dr. Granville Coggs is both astonished and gratified at the path he has taken and the things he has accomplished.  Growing up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas in a time when society told him what he couldn’t do and how he wasn’t good enough because of his race, Granville benefited from having a strong family that taught him to endure, persevere and to go beyond what was expected of him in order to break through barriers and be successful. His father, a son of slaves, founded a boys’ reformatory and orphanage and served as president of Arkansas Baptist College. His mother pushed her children to become educated.

When America went to war, second class citizens were suddenly good enough to join the fight. Young Granville knew that he had a better chance to survive by acting before he could be drafted into infantry duty. He applied to join a new Army Air Corps program in Alabama that was training African American men to fly and maintain combat aircraft. Granville had the wits and confidence to make the grade and became one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen. He earned his wings as a bombardier and pilot in 1945, and fortunately did not have to put his skills to the test as the war ended.

His postwar flight path traveled through the University of Nebraska and then to Harvard Medical School on the wings of a scholarship. In 1953 Dr. Granville Coggs emerged as a practitioner in the growing field of radiology. He eventually became a professor at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio. From 2004 to 2008, he worked as a civilian physician at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, specializing in reading mammograms.

For diversions, “Granny” enjoys playing the gutbucket (a stringed instrument made from a broomstick and a tin wash tub) and singing in a men’s choir. He’s most proud of his late career as a senior athlete, winning medals in the Texas Senior Games and competing in track at the National Senior Games since 1999. He knows he is a role model for others but is quick to credit his wife Maud for prodding him to exercise regularly and for extending the length and quality of his life. Without his fitness and athletic pursuits, he likely would not have seen the day when he joined other surviving Tuskegee Airmen to sit on the stage as invited guests for President Obama’s historic 2009 Inauguration. For this Personal Best athlete, winning medals is the least of his rewards for following his parents’ guidance.

 

The story of your life is impressive. You don’t seem to have let anything get in the way of your goals and ambitions.

When people ask what single factor I ascribe for my success, I tell them my biggest achievement was selecting my parents. That’s true.  I’m blessed to have had those parents and those four older siblings. They all have made their own achievements in life. I think this is the bottom line.  If you don’t want Granville to do something, just tell him he can’t do it and then get out of the way while he does it.

 

The challenges of growing up in the South during the days of the Jim Crow Laws must have been a big factor in shaping your determined spirit.

It’s hard to comprehend but it was reality. What my parents and family told me was this: If you want to get ahead, you have to do better than the other white folks. You can’t just do as well, you have to do better. And that’s still in my bones. I never tried to prove I was superior to somebody, just that I was as good as everybody else.

I’m a persistent and goal directed person. So that’s how I have achieved. And it’s a day to day thing.

 

We Googled your name and found a Youtube video featuring you reciting the poem “Invictus,”  which inspired the title of the movie about Nelson Mandela. Were you inspired by that movie?

Let me tell you what the inspiration for that was. The date was July 18 of last year. It was Nelson Mandela’s birthday and he was quite ill that day. The TV news had Morgan Freeman on and he recited “Invictus” and I decided I should memorize it. I’ve been reciting it at least once a day since. My practical reason is this: In the past two years or so I have lost a lot of short term memory and this proves to me that my 88 year old brain has a functional memory. So I now daily recite that along with the Gettysburg Address, which is fan-tastic.

You know, I now have 17 sons. They are not biological sons but these are people who show me the respect they would show their father.  So Roddray Walker, who is Son Number Four, put that up on Youtube for me.  I don’t know how to do it.  Oh yes, the one I’m most proud of  the 20 minute piece that includes me being interviewed by Robin Roberts on ABC TV the day of President Obama’s first inauguration. It also shows me winning three medals in one afternoon at the Senior Games in San Antonio and me playing the gutbucket.

 

How did you become a Tuskegee Airman?

Let me cut right to the chase. I was 18 in college and I was told by my draft board I was going to be drafted soon. I felt that I would wind up in the infantry and get killed, and that I would be better off if I could volunteer to get into this new option for Blacks to be aviation cadets. I had to pass some tough tests that others didn’t. That’s how I got in.

It’s a great legacy. There are 50 chapters of the  Tuskegee Airmen organization around the country. Anyone can become a member of the group by simply paying dues.  One of the goals is to maintain the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen and to encourage youngsters today.  There were 996 Black pilots who originally went through the training, and there are less than 50 of us left today. The San Antonio chapter meets the first Wednesday of each month at Randolph Air Force Base.  In San Antonio there were five original members, and one has died. There’s two that are five years older than me.

 

You must have been quite an athlete as a youth.

No. Nooo. In high school while everybody else was playing basketball and football I was playing flute and piccolo in the band.  Now my wife Maud was a scholar athlete. In fact, she ran varsity track and was a member of the Tuskegee Institute women’s basketball team that were 1946 national champions. But she certainly did not marry an athlete.

 

So when did you get serious about fitness?

Here’s how all of this happened. I had a diagnosis of narcolepsy, which is chronic sleep deprivation. In 1994 I got a job as a Locum Tenens Radiologist. I traveled around different places in Texas where they didn’t have someone to read mammograms.  I started to commute daily 100 miles each way to Carizzo Springs, Texas. But I would tend to fall asleep while driving. I learned that if I began to feel drowsy I would pull over once or twice each way and take a quick nap. That would restore me. I have a fast charging battery. That’s probably why I’m still here to talk to you today.

So Maud, with her athletic background, believed that if I would get fit I probably wouldn’t fall asleep like that. So she became my coach.  She would get up with me at 3 o’clock in the morning and run with me through the neighborhood. (I’m an owl you know. I’ll get up and write in the middle of the night.) But Maud knows she’s better off if I’m alive.

Now my real mentor is Kenneth Cooper. He wrote the book “Aerobics” and it guided me. Aerobics is basically exercising all four limbs enough that it makes you sweat. He felt that if you could run a mile in under 8 minutes you would be fit. By training every day I found I could do that. Along with it goes healthy diet and good mental attitude, social interaction, all of those things. The bottom line was that his aerobic activity every day would prolong your life. So you are talking to an 88 year young healthy person. In fact I have a tee shirt that says “Sweat Often – Live Longer.”

 

How did you start running in competition?

Another younger fellow that was running with me on the track at the University of Texas Health Science Center said “You ought to run in the National Senior Games.”  So 1997 was the first time I ran in the San Antonio Senior Games track meets at the age of 77. I ran the 1500 meters – that’s just short of a mile – and I won a Gold medal. That was the beginning of my competitive career…and I’m still doing it 17 years later! (Laughs)

 

So, how did you do in Cleveland last year?

(Chuckles) Well, I was registered for the 400 meter race. But I overslept and missed it.

 

Oh no!

Oh yes. (Sheepish laugh) When I got there it was all over. But they let me run in the new 50 meter race. That was my first time running that distance. I came in last, of course. I’m a longer distance runner.

 

The photo we took of you in Cleveland makes it look like you were tiptoeing over the line.

No, I was finishing. Part of my finish is to raise up my arms.

 

Well, you’ve won a lot of medals in Senior Games so we’ll forgive you and look for you to show up on time in 2015.

I have not counted the medals, it really does not matter. My main goal is to stay healthy. What I now wear is my Congressional Gold Medal given to all of the Tuskegee Airmen and one of my Gold Medals earned at the Texas games last year.

 

 

I also enjoy the people I meet at these games. I have a special friend I got to see this past year who lives in Cleveland.

Dr. Jerry Liebman was my gross anatomy laboratory partner at Harvard Medical School. In fact, my first Kosher meal was with Jerry at his home in Brooklyn back in 1949.

For the next round, I’m sure I will be qualifying in the Texas Senior Games in San Antonio to go to Nationals. I’m running in the 85 to 89 age group and there’s not too many of us at that level. But my problem of late is financial. That’s hard to say about a Harvard Medical School graduate who had a successful career.  I hope I have the cash flow to get to Minneapolis. I stayed in the dormitory in Cleveland and that was pretty economical. I imagine they will have similar options for poor athletes like me. And when I say that, I mean financially poor.

 

 

Something tells us you will find a way. How do you keep yourself in shape now? And do you have any special training practices before you race?

Here’s what this current 88 year young fellow should do: I should be in bed sleeping for six hours. I think four maybe five hours a night is all I would ever get in medical school. And that’s still what I’m inclined to get with my body rhythms. And diet is very important.

Then there are three things I try to participate in daily: I bicycle here in the neighborhood, that’s about two miles. And then I stretch. I don’t have any problems with hamstrings because I stretch before walking and running. And then I swim. And then while I’m swimming I’ll recite the Gettysburg Address and Invictus. I hope those are the last things that go from my memory.

If you do this daily, you don’t have to train for these races. My book describes in detail what I do daily. It’s called “Soaring Inspiration: The Journey of An Original Tuskegee Airman.”  My daughter wrote the last two chapters, and they are the best part of it.

 

You took your wife’s advice and got yourself moving to improve your quality of life. What would you say to motivate others who are less active as you once were?

It is very hard to move somebody. It must come from inside that person. Most people know what they are supposed to do for healthy living. All that I can say is that if I can do it, you can do it. I’m not a special creation. I’m just one of God’s children.

By the Numbers – Jane Kaiser, 65, St. Louis, Missouri

Jane Kaiser may not be the most gifted senior athlete, but she just might be the healthiest. It seems fitting that a native of St. Louis would be the poster child for our motto to “Be Your Personal Best.” After all, the Gateway City is the birthplace of the National Senior Games. And Jane, who was selected to carry the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Torch in her hometown, has gathered her share of medals and ribbons in local, state and national competition, primarily in swimming and track and field. She has enjoyed everything the Senior Games Movement has to offer in fun, fellowship and fitness.

It would be hard to find a better example of the benefits one can derive from maintaining a balance of proper exercise, nutrition and preventative health practices throughout life. A key factor is that Jane is a nurse who practices what she preaches, having seen her own parents suffer from a sedentary lifestyle and vowing to find a better way for herself. After witnessing the consequences of poor health choices as a surgical intensive care unit nurse for 15 years, she became a nursing instructor with a goal to influence her students to go beyond caring for the sick to encourage wellness and preventive care.

After a hiatus to take on fulltime duties of scout leader and sports mom to her four children, Jane joined the Visiting Nurse Association in 2006 and continues to conduct “point of care” wellness clinics at area businesses. She enjoys explaining what the biometric numbers mean and empowering people to take charge of their own health. She has also been active giving talks on a variety of health topics through OASIS programs, as a presenter at the YMCA’s annual Women’s Wellness Weekend, and sharing emergency preparedness talks to groups through the St. Louis County Department of Health Medical Reserve Corps. She has also done volunteer work with the St. Louis Sports Commission.

Jane Kaiser counts her blessings for taking the path she chose, and knows that she is a role model with practical wisdom to share with others. Being a senior athlete is another way for her to teach by example and motivate others to reap the same health benefits through regular activity. She’s also having a ball doing it.

 

Everyone says you have always been the model of health. You’re 65 right?

Yes I’m 65 (Pause) Thank you very much for asking. (Laugh)

 

Well, it’s just a number. And you will never find a group of people more proud to say their age than senior athletes.

It depends. (Laugh)  50 was a hard one to turn over. I just decided to take hold of it and enjoy it. I realized I could be in Senior Games and go play and have fun. I was going to get to do things I’ve always wanted to do all along, and that became a good reason to turn 50 and do more things to stay in shape.

1999 was the first year I could compete and I went through the entire brochure to see what I’d like to do. I selected track and field and swimming first. That’s what I do at the National Senior Games. I had never ever thrown a javelin or shot put or discus. I just watched what the other ladies did and tried it. I wasn’t too bad at it, but I don’t have really big shoulders like most of the others. If I just get it out there and keep my numbers I’m OK. (Chuckles)

Between 50 and 60 I tried all of the sports at the St. Charles, St. Louis and Missouri State Senior Games. Part of the reason is that I wanted to meet the different groups of people that did those individual sports, and to understand the sports better. That was a lot of fun. At the National Senior Games it keeps me hopping just to do my two sports.

 

Have you played sports all of your life?

I played multiple varsity sports at the high school and college level. After college I got married and had four children in six years. I worked until the fourth child came and there was too much to do at home, so I took some time off from my nursing career.  I was pretty busy with Girls Scouts and Boy Scouts. I was a leader with my girls. I was always the one with the First Aid kit on camping trips. And I was the sports mom watching my kids play a lot of sports. But periodically there were opportunities that arose and I jumped on them. I did play on a coed softball team and some volleyball with other women.

 

So what has motivated you to pursue a lifetime of health and fitness?

It was a combination of things. I had parents who were overweight and had high blood pressure. Both had heart attacks by the time they were my age now. There was no way I wanted to go down that road. I think a lot of us now look back and say, “Wow, my parents weren’t very active when they were the age I am now.” And they weren’t, they were sedentary. That’s what they probably thought they were supposed to be at that age.

In nursing school they tell you to eat well and exercise, and I thought, “Well, I can do that.” In my first nursing assignment I worked in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit and I was seeing all of these patients who were really, really sick and I thought “I don’t want it to happen to me. This isn’t any fun.” So I decided to be as healthy as I can. My husband and I both take no medication, and that’s unusual for 65 year olds. I attribute it to the fact that we eat healthy and exercise. It’s been working so far, and I’m thrilled. (Laughs)

But it does come down to keeping yourself going. Get out there and exercise today, or you will likely go down the other path. Believe me, you don’t want to go down that other path.

 

Clearly, you have a passion for your profession and for advocating for others to be healthy.

I’ve really found my home doing wellness clinics. We go out with our equipment to various businesses-some big, some little- and we take a little drop of blood and do employees’ measurements to determine blood pressure, blood sugar, BMI, and cholesterol levels.  Point of care is what it’s called, and it has a lot of advantages – we can give results and the consultation almost immediately and the employee doesn’t have to leave work and can get checked out on company time.

I love getting people excited about becoming healthier. I tell them the doctor isn’t the only person who should be taking care of them, they should be taking care of themselves and paying attention to what’s going on in their own bodies, what foods they put in their bodies. Nutrition is important for health. The Food Pyramid is out and the My Plate is in. I tell them they shouldn’t be eating themselves to death and to look at food as their best medicine.

Then I get into the physical activity. I promote the use of a pedometer. That gives them a way to start with an actual number, and then they can work their way up gradually. Everyone needs a baseline for all of these aspects of health. Don’t go out and collapse on the track. Add 500 steps and see how you feel. It might take you six months to get yourself up and going the way you should be.

You know, whenever you’re going through a change, it takes 21 to 30 days before your mind and your body even acknowledges that you’ve made a change. If you haven’t walked three times a week for three or four weeks your body doesn’t know that’s the new norm. And you have to exercise for the rest of your life, not just for three weeks. Whatever you do to take care of your body, keep doing it.

 

So in your view it’s a numbers game to maintain health?

A lot of doctors will simply tell patients “your numbers are fine.” Well, that’s not good enough anymore. You should know all of your actual numbers to plot how you are doing, if you’re getting better or worse. If your 4th grader come home and you asked how he did on his spelling test and he told you “My teacher said I did fine” that just wouldn’t fly. It’s your body and you should know as much about what’s going on as you can. Then you will know better what to do to improve.

To be fair, doctors do want people to try lifestyle changes first. We all want people to adjust their behavior. In my clinical work I deal with a lot of men between the ages of 25 and 40 who don’t think they need to see a doctor. Wrong! When we do their blood work and they find their cholesterol or their blood sugar is out of whack they start to realize they do have to take care of themselves at their young age. So when they do get older they can live a happy healthy life too.

 

It must be gratifying to be able to inform someone about an issue they might not have found if they haven’t had regular checks.

Exactly. A lot of them think their numbers are going to be fine and we’re going to pat them on the back. A lot of times we do, but often we find something they need to know. And if you want to raise your HDL (the good cholesterol) the best way to do that is through activity. I specifically tell them they need to get going, start walking. I ask if they participated in sports in high school and about half say yes. Man, that’s my cue. (Laughs) I’ll then say “You know what? The Senior Olympics here in St. Louis has the same sport – I’ll bet you’d have a really good time doing that again.” I just blend it right in.

I don’t know how many take me up on it. Because of the HIPAA law I cannot have any later contact with the clients I work with in clinics. But at least I am giving them the information and maybe some are getting involved.

 

You certainly offer proof that it works by your example. So personally, is Senior Games a fun thing or is it a competition thing?

Both. The goal when I go to Nationals is to get a medal. I’ve won one Silver and three Bronze medals over the years, but I usually come away with several ribbons, which means I came in between fourth place and eighth place.  I do get a lot of fourth place ribbons, and I must admit that’s hard to handle. But maybe those other guys just worked at it more and deserved to win. Do not get me wrong, there is not a competitor at the National Senior Olympic Games that does not have an ache or pain somewhere, me included.  I’m not retired so I don’t get to practice as much as I’d like to, especially with all the different sports I like to do. It’s a motivation though. Let’s just see how I do the next time.

It’s a lot of fun too. I see the same ladies coming back each time and we enjoy catching up on what’s happened since we last saw each other. Plus it’s a mini vacation every two years. My husband and I get to go see different places and do things we wouldn’t do otherwise. We map it all out and when I’m finished with my competition we do the tourist thing. We took an Alaskan cruise after we went to San Francisco for the games in 2009.

But maybe most importantly, it keeps me active the rest of the year. I think “Oh I better keep swimming all year long or I’ll be slower at the next games.” So I swim twice a week and doing whatever other physical activity I can come up with. Cross training keeps the fun in it too.

What’s fun is to take my grandchildren up to the high school track and show them the sand pit and tell them what I do. They’re very young but think it’s really cool. They play in the sand pit while I run around the track. Those little things can make a big impression.

 

So you take that Missouri “Show Me” attitude literally.

Yes I do!  Sometimes I take one of my medals to my talks and tell people “Look, if you get involved you might be able to show one of these to your grandchildren.” You got to get that hook in them to pull them in.

Targeting the Heart – Little Big Eagle, 58, Midland, North Carolina

There he stood on the awards podium in Cleveland, proudly celebrating his Gold Medal in archery won at the 2013 National Senior Games Presented by Humana. His name was announced – Little Big Eagle – and it seemed to convey to every observer that this was a Native American archer who probably had years of experience and knowledge in his competitive field.

As you will find from our interview, he is actually a relative “newbie” in the field and this was Little Big Eagle’s first national competition. His experience with the bow and arrow was rooted in traditional close range hunting techniques, not in grueling competition that requires physical and mental concentration to shoot 100 arrows per day at a target 60 yards away.

You will also discover a multi-faceted individual who defies stereotyping. He was born in New York City yet raised with authentic cultural beliefs and practices.  He has been a professional musician, champion kick boxer, certified dog and horse trainer, ordained Christian minister, life skills teacher, drug education instructor and proprietor of  The Love & Happiness Ranch, a nonprofit faith based outreach program he created to provide culturally diverse youth and senior programs in the Charlotte area.  A little of this, a little of that. In fact, his music ensemble is called Lil’ Dis ‘n Dat because they perform a spectrum of music styles, including a soul-stirring “Heart Song” he performs on the native flute.

In all of his pursuits there is a common thread that is weaved into his heart with traditions and deep faith engrained by his parents and forebearers.  His actions always harmonize with a message that all men are brothers and the importance of loving and respecting one another.

 

Curiosity dictates that we have to start by asking you about your name and what it means.

My parents wanted to give me a name to help me stay balanced. Little Big means “just about right,” you know, in between, not quite finished, not too big and not too small. The top of the pot hasn’t blown off yet. So every time you call my name it’s an attitude check. And the eagle is a majestic, strong bird. The eagle can do two things -he can reward you, and he can take you out. You would never have to say to me, “If I were you I wouldn’t do that.” Just call my name. You only need to say “Little Big Eagle.” It’s a name I have to live up to.

 

It’s impressive how your family maintained tradition, heritage, and spiritual teachings right down to giving you your name.

My family was awesome, they were very God-conscious and tried to teach us in the ways of old, what they called survival skills – hunting, taking care of the family, making sure your prayers are correct, how you align your thoughts. Pray all the time, al l the time. If you don’t get results keep praying until you get some results. It always seems to make your situations in life work.  (Chuckles) You know, people think it’s funny when I tell them I was born in New York City of all places. You know the Manhattan was an Indian nation.

 

Yeah, they sold the island for some beads.

Yes, the Wampum. You see this small strand of beads here on my neck? These say it won’t happen again. But thank God for Greyhound because we ended up coming back in North Carolina when I was 14. I say coming back because this area was always home for my Tuscarora Nation until the 1700s when we were run out. My people went to New York where the six Iroquois tribes adopted us. So there’s the New York connection.

 

So, how did you become an animal trainer by profession?

My grandfather was a blacksmith and horse trainer and my dad was a dog trainer and horse trainer. We always had 25 dogs around the house. Someone told me once if you look in your back yard you might find that what looks like trash might instead be a gold mine. So I looked in my back yard and saw a lot of dog poop. (Laughs) That got me thinking about following in the family path and I returned back north to attend the International School of the Animal Arts in Brooklyn, New York. And I became a professional dog trainer. Both personal security and police dog training. I traveled all over the place – New York, Canada, Panama, you name it. And the horse has always been around my life. It’s been around us since the Spaniards brought it to us and we called it “the big dog.” So horse training has always been in my family and I continue to practice it.

 

Tell us about your sports background. As a Native American, one might suppose archery comes naturally to you.

Let me put it into perspective. I played football and did track and field in school – shotput, discus. For a time I was a super heavyweight kick boxing champion. I fought three times in Madison Square Garden in the late ’80s. I’ve also been a champion i n police dog and horseback competitions. I can be a warrior.

Now, I’ve been doing archery since I was five years old but it wasn’t a competition thing. My granddad and dad taught me. We were all hunters, and we didn’t hunt anything that we didn’t eat. So the bow and arrow was a tool, not a weapon. Archery was just a way of life.

But I did a few 3D competitions around here, you know, shooting animal figures just for some fun. Then I put the bow down for 12 years and didn’t take it back up until 3 months before the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Senior Games a couple years ago. When I got there I saw how serious it was with the other gentlemen. Suddenly I was back in Madison Square Garden and the competition bug came out. It was like “OK guy, I got to deliver a knockout punch.” (Laughs) So I got real serious about it and the next year I decided “I’m going to go all the way to Nationals and then go to the world masters event if I do well.”

 

Well, you took Gold in barebow compound for the 55-59 age group at the National Senior Games. What was that like for you?

It was absolutely awesome. We had hundreds of archers there. I witnessed a gentlemen shooting who was 101 years old! We had a small tornado, rain all day, I was absolutely soaking wet. It was great! I loved every minute of it. And even though I won my age group, I was surprised that I did it. First, before competing I had never had to shoot so many arrows in one day, and then to shoot them 60 yards. As a hunter I never had to do that, it was all stealth and close range – boom, it was over.

And then, during my competition my bow started to fall apart and I didn’t even know it. A fellow about eight lanes from me heard my bow going “Bing! Bing! Bing!” and came over to my 14 year old daughter (my coach) and me and told us there was something wrong and asked to look at it. He told me the limb saver button was loose and he tightened it up for me. After that it all ca me into focus and I was able to do my thing.

 

This was a competitor who assisted you.

It’s a great relationship of mutual respect I found even in the dead eye of competition. That man had information and knew that I didn’t have a clue what was going on. He came to my aid knowing that there was a possibility that I would take him out. Let me tell you, I thank him every day that I breathe.

 

What was the rest of you experience like in Cleveland – Were you inspired?

It was incredible seeing thousands of seniors doing this. I was surprised to meet guys from Jamaica and Mexico, all over the world. I even met a Hopi brother in archery. He was 90 years old. I’m praying that I meet him at the next Nationals.

Now you want to talk about inspiration? You need to see these seniors, going for the gusto, going out to do it one more tim e.  Then there’s the 101 year old guy. We had to shoot 90 arrows per day. Can you imagine what it was like for him when he was gettin g out his 88th arrow? My stars!

 

How do you try to inspire others to get more in shape?

A wise man will investigate what a fool takes for granted. Now listen: you may not be able to jump two foot, but you can jump a half a foot. You may not be able to run a mile, but you can run a half a mile. We are all pushing for our Personal Best. It’s wh at I’m working toward and see in myself. So it’s much more than a competition thing. There’s always people you look up to too. In fact, there’s this one gentleman I won’t name that’s holding a record in the Nationals…don’t tell him, but I’m hunting for him. (Laughs) Oooh, woo, the dogs are out on him now! (Everyone laughs)

No really, it’s not just about competition. I’m out there having fun, but it’s also more fun when they walk you on the podium . Now don’t get me as being arrogant. That don’t fly. It took all the gentlemen who came before me that made it happen so that I would be able to go there and compete. And I’m here. (gets animated, hand in air) And By Gaaard – that’s my North Carolina accent – By Gaard, I’m gonna stay! (Everyone laughs)

 

Seems like you’ve always been in good physical shape. Have you had any trials and troubles?

Because of the stuff I did in the ring, I’ve had both of my hips replaced and had my L4 and 5 vertebrae repaired. I’m also a prostate cancer survivor. These were trials but no trouble, Brother. Life is not designed to be without challenges. What will you do with it?  I got through it because of my faith and prayer. There’s a higher power than who we are that reaches beyond the sky. God’s confidence is true. And I’m here in front of you.

 

Turning to another facet of your life, you had a music career and still play in a band?

My dad was my first teacher and I mostly taught myself growing up. In fact, back in the day I went to a school to further my education as a bass player. When I auditioned the teacher closed the book and said “Are you making money now?” I said “Yes Sir.” He said. “Well I can’t help you much more. Have a good day.” And that was the end of my schooling. (Laughs) I did learn a lot from the School of Hard Knocks from guys on the road. It’s not easy to do that professionally.

So yes, I was in bands and was a hired gun during my time around New York, mostly on bass but I also played trumpet. I played with Elton John, Natalie Cole, Ronnie Dyson, D Train, a lot of gospel stuff. Did some gigs in Madison Square Garden in fact.

Now my band here is called Lil’ Dis ‘n Dat, and that’s just what we do…we do a little of this and a little of that. My band is about good music with good musicians. We’re able to take 200 songs and mix ’em up to back up a certain singer or to fit just about any occasion. We do cabaret, we do pop stuff, and we also do quite a bit of gospel stuff around town. And then when I break out my flute it goes from Barbara Streisand or James Brown to culture and spirit.  When I blow, I want it to affect the listener. I want it to do what normal music doesn’t do. Give them something to ease their heart. What I want to do through all my music is healing.

It’s nothing that can be repeated, it’s nothing I practice. It comes from my soul. When I pick that flute up, it’s all new.  Down in my DNA, I feel a tone and it begins to vibrate. You know, the earth itself moves on the “A” and vibrates on the “440.” (Smiles at the interviewer’s confusion) I mean in a music sense, the earth moves in the key of A, and vibrates on the perfect tone of 440. Now the closest I’ve felt I’ve gotten is the A minor in my playing. But I can hear it in my sleep. I can hear it in my heart.

 

This conversation would not be complete without recognizing things you are doing in the community. Tell us about the Love and Happiness Ranch program you and your wife operate.

The program was established here in North Carolina but the idea started in 1979 in New York while I was working with kids in after school programs. I originally thought about having an adult camp to interact with animals, teaching what we call equine etiquette with the intent to instill peace of mind and self-esteem. What I found was that it was really a family issue and it turned my head around. Some parents don’t have the money or time to do things with their kids. And many children are missing a foundation altogether.

We have an outdoor education youth program that provides life-sustaining skills through a series of activities designed to increase their level of self-confidence and mastering techniques for survival in the outdoors. We introduce farming techniques, equine etiquette and ranching through hands-on demonstration. When people interact with animals it’s a form of therapy and they begin to see a lot of things in their lives. I love to see these kids become warriors and missionaries with the strength they learn.

For our seniors we provide assistance with everyday life issues, mini-concerts, crafts, cultural ensembles and many other activities here and in the community. You know, in my background it was always about honoring and helping our elders. That’s not happening much anymore. Some of this is ministering to heal people. I’m trying to make a difference. We hope to get grants to work with more at risk children. I have to get my language right so I can attract the support to be better, more efficient and more direct. Our children and families need to be saved.

 

You certainly have a well rounded life and dedicate your share of time and effort to helping guide others.

This is the only way that I can represent. When you have the authentic thing, the weak things around you can’t stand. So we all ha ve to stand true to who we are, the way we are and why we are.  So as you think you are, so you attract others who think the same.

 

It seems that everything in your life has a spiritual center or goal.

That’s what I live for. Little Big Eagle…not quite finished, comme ci, comme ca.

 

A little dis and dat.

(Smiles) God is not through with me yet. I’m working for perfection.

Full Cycle – Larry Johnson, 94, Albuquerque, New Mexico

When he turned 90, Larry Johnson’s grandson challenged him to ride his bike 90 miles to celebrate. Not only did he accept the challenge, he made it an even 100 miles and staged the ride on a spin cycle at his gym in Albuquerque. Now 94, the gregarious National Senior Games medalist has duplicated the feat annually, and has inspired others to  fill all the cycles  at the gym and pedal along for his “birthday spin.”

It’s hard to believe his grandson would even think of such a proposition, but Larry has maintained his health and fitness in a methodical manner for most of his life. He’s proud he takes no medications and still retains all of his teeth. Considering he was a mechanics instructor and a flight engineer during World War II and then pursued a 38 year career as an Atomic Age mechanical engineer designing, building and testing nuclear bomb casings and components, it’s easy to understand his fastidious attention to detail.

While he counts his blessings for avoiding major health issues, Larry has not been without obstacles in recent years, including the loss of his wife of 68 years, and suffering a hip fracture that kept him from going to the 2013 National Senior Games Presented by Humana. Having grown up on a farm just outside of Cleveland where the games were hosted, not competing in his birth state was a bitter pill to swallow.

Either of these events might have derailed him. However, Larry Johnson possesses a Personal Best attitude to overcome and persevere. He continues to do the things that have helped him stay healthy, and he derives energy and support from the social connections his fitness and sport activities bring to him. We have little doubt he will be cycling 100 miles on his 100th birthday.

 

So, let’s start by asking about that 100 mile birthday ride you do every year.

As my 90th  birthday approached, one of my grandsons suggested that I ride 90 miles on my bike.  I was hesitant to make that ride outdoors in the unpredictable early spring New Mexico weather, so I spoke with one of my spin instructors at the gym who is also a longtime family friend, and we decided to do a 90 mile ride in the spin room. We set aside four hours for it and I finished early. I thought “well heck, we have 30 minutes, let’s just go to 100”. It’s now an annual event in early April where other members of our spin class join me to do the 100 mile birthday spin. There’s 35 bikes in that room and we actually have a waiting list now for people of all ages to get in.  Many of them haven’t gone for that long before and say they are amazed they can do it.

 

Perhaps they know how embarrassed they will be if they can’t keep up with the old man.

(Hearty laughter) That might be the motivation for some, but I’ve built such lasting friendships in this class. They have supported me on so many levels, and their presence each year at this event means a lot to me.

 

Let’s go all the way back. Have you always been athletic?

I grew up as a farm boy near Litchfield Ohio, about 20 miles outside of Cleveland. My parents had a strong work ethic.

During the Depression we were poor but we didn’t know it. We raised our own animals and had a garden. We ate fresh foods in season and mom canned stuff for wintertime. Talk about an active and organic life, that’s what my first 21 years were like.

I went to a small rural school and I played some baseball —  we didn’t have football, cross country or a track team. When I enlisted into the armed forces, I was stationed in Texas and played some handball.  After that, I was a bit of a gym rat as an adult.   As I approached my 50th birthday I thought I was getting a little out of shape.  The city had begun constructing an extensive network of shared biking and walking trails, and one was very near our home. So I started running and I clicked on that pretty good.

Shortly thereafter, Frank Shorter won the Olympic marathon in 1972 in Munich. The running boom really took off in this country and it was a big inspiration for me. Frank lived up in Taos and I got to know him a bit. My first marathon was a local one in 1973. I’ve done about 24 of them. Some of the early local ones were very low key and unofficial – we just got some folks together and did it.  We called ourselves the Albuquerque Road Runners.  After my youngest son Phil married in 1981, his wife Janelle would travel with my wife Billie and me to run the Fiesta Bowl Marathon, which we did together for three or four years. In 1989, we ran the Boston Marathon. Janelle’s brother, who was friends with one of the promoters, arranged for me to meet Johnny Kelly and his wife.  Johnny was still running the full marathon at 82 – what a motivator he was for so many of us who were senior athletes. My fondest marathon memories, however, were fostered right here in Albuquerque at the annual Duke City Marathon & Half Marathon event.  There are far too many memories to share here, but my favorite was in the fall of 2000 when I crossed the finished line with Janelle and my youngest grandson Jay Kory, who was 12 years old.

Another inspiration has been Dr. Walter Bortz. He’s a cardiologist out of Stanford Medical Center and a big advocate for senior fitness.  A couple of his books I like are “We Live Too Short and Die Too Long” and “Dare To Be 100.” He used to do a 50 plus 8K run around the Stanford campus each year. I ran with him in that for about three years in a row. Then I got focused on New Mexico Senior Olympics and going to the National Senior Games.

Around that time I started doing triathlons and enjoyed the cycling phase. A few years later, I underwent ACL surgery and it took me off running for six months, so that was when I really got serious about cycling.  I found that cycling was just more fun. Sometimes running feels like I’m slogging along. On a bike I really feel like I’m moving and I get zoned in and enjoy it greatly.

 

Being in New Mexico it must be a bonus to create a breeze for yourself too!

When the humidity is below 10 percent, you can sweat a lot and dry off fast. It’s like an air conditioner keeping you cool.

 

We hear you have been going to the National Senior Games since they started.

In 1987 I was curious, so I drove to St. Louis to find out what it was all about. I didn’t compete but I was there, and came back two years later as a runner. It was a rewarding experience, but the 5K & 10K distances were a challenge as my long distance pace was a consistent 8-minute mile, whether I was competing in a marathon or a 5K. I don’t have those fast twitch muscles. I got place ribbons but not many medals in running.

I won my first Gold Medal in triathlon in Baton Rouge in 1993. I won two Gold and one Silver in cycling in the same year. Overall in National Senior Games competition I’ve been fortunate to earn 24 Gold, four Silver and two Bronze. I’m most proud of the early ones because there was a lot of talented competitors in the lower age levels. So, I’ve gone to every Nationals except the one that was near my home town just outside of Cleveland!

 

We were wondering what happened to you last year.

I had hotel reservations and paid my registration. But three weeks before I was to leave I fell off my damn bicycle. I went over the handlebars on a training ride and fractured my right hip. The ball and femur were good, but there were two cracks between the pelvis and the socket. When I did it I wasn’t too far from home and thought I could get back on and punch it through with one leg but I couldn’t swing it over the seat. (Pause) It was a real disappointment, as I had some family members still in the Cleveland area who were all planning to attend.

 

Was there a point where you thought “That’s it. I’m done”?

No. My first thought was maybe I can get back up and make it to Cleveland. But when it hurt so bad I couldn’t even put my toe on the ground, well that convinced me this was serious. But  I am so blessed to have all four of our children living near me, and their collective care and good cheer never allowed me to experience doubt. I was back in spin class in six weeks, and my fellow spinners dropped in to check on me frequently during my recovery. I survived, and I’m planning on seeing everyone at the next one.

 

Sounds like you enjoy the company of others in your activities.

Oh yes. The social aspect of life helps get me up every day. I was married for 68 years and lost my dear wife and “pit crew” four years ago. My oldest daughter Jerri lost her husband the same year, and later came to live with me in our four bedroom home where she grew up. That’s worked out pretty good for both of us. I’m very grateful for her steadfast love and care.

I have forged many close friendships at National Senior Games. There’s a fella I know well named John Taylor from Georgia who’s a pretty good talker. I think he was a preacher once. (Laughs)  I spoke to him after I missed last year and he joked he was happy that I didn’t go to Cleveland. He told me “I’ve been hoping you’d break your leg, but I didn’t have anything to do with you fracturing your hip.” (Laughs)

My daughter Judy has accompanied her mother and me to several state and national games through the years, and she’s really looking forward to joining me next year at the national games – she’s a tremendous support during my competitions and enjoys the social side of the games as well.

Also, when I go to the gym there’s all these ladies who think I’m a ‘chick magnet’ and they’re always wondering what I’m doing. Everybody cheers me on. I gotta keep that social part of it going for me. It’s a motivating factor to keep at it.

 

Of course, the bottom line is that this is really about keeping fit and healthy, isn’t it?

Absolutely. We all need to practice wellness – keep moving, keep stretching and stay limber.

One other activity I still enjoy is alpine skiing.  I’ve skied all around Colorado and northern New Mexico, and served thirty years on the Sandia Peak Ski Patrol, which is a volunteer organization. I still enjoy skiing with my son Phil and his family at Sandia Peak. My great-grandson Louis will be two this winter and I’m hoping that maybe we’ll soon have four generations together on the slopes.  At present, Phil is the only runner among my four children. He’s run a couple of marathons in recent years, but his passion is snow and water skiing.

 

What is your exercise routine now?

I engage in some form of physical activity six days a week. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I work out my upper body, and then I’ll go out and walk on a trail for a couple miles.  When the weather’s nice I don’t see any point in using a treadmill. On Fridays I am at the gym, participating in either a program called Body Pump, and sometimes I do Pilates or yoga. Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday I have my spin classes. Weather permitting, I sometimes go cycling outside. But I’ve found I can train nearly as well indoors at spin class, working up a good sweat and enjoying the fun and fellowship with the friends I’ve made there. Riding on a spin cycle doesn’t help with keeping my balance, but at the same time I don’t have to worry about watching out for traffic.  While there is an abundance of good cycling trails in Albuquerque, there are still some very busy intersections to cross.

 

What about your nutrition?

I’ve always eaten well.  I can’t remember the last time I ate at a fast food joint. I don’t eat any processed meat, mostly chicken and fish. Every once in awhile I’ll eat a steak if someone’s having a cookout. I do like my New Mexican food though – chicken enchiladas and lots of green chile.

I’ve been doing more blender concoctions the past few years. For breakfast I’ll combine a cup of kefir or rice milk, a banana, some flax seed and maybe some sliced pineapple, berries or watermelon with a dollop of honey. I’ll drink three quarters of that and then for lunch I’ll add some veggies to it- kale, spinach, mushrooms and the like. We fix something warm for the evening meal or eat out.

 

So, what would your advice be to people to get up off the couch?

A lot of it is a mindset. You’ve got to appreciate your body for the wonderful machine that it is and you just gotta keep it working. I like to tell people to compare it to your car. You have to take care of it to keep it going. You change the oil, get new tires and a battery, you clean the upholstery if you spill something on it. It’s the same way with your body. You’ve got to feed it well, exercise it, work up a sweat and get your heart rate up. Keep your mind going. If you park your car in the garage and don’t run it the first thing you know the tires go flat and the battery is dead. You have high tech parts, so get some high tech things for your body. Get on the Internet, your email, your cell phone. Find solutions, put a smile on your face and have a social life.

 

That is spoken like a true mechanical engineer.

I guess that’s right! (Extended laughter)

Going Great Lengths – Vivian Stancil, 67, Riverside, California

Photo (below) By: Cathy Wilson

If you had told a young Vivian Stancil she would one day be swimming and competing in Senior Games, she would have laughed out loud at the notion. She was always deathly afraid of water, and could have easily quit with the first panic attack that gripped her when she finally did ease into a pool to learn how to swim in her early 50’s. But she was determined to lose weight and found the strength within to follow through, and was soon slimming down 125 pounds and joining in swim meets for fun.

Over the past decade Vivian has collected more than 100 medals in several different swimming disciplines, mostly at local and state levels. Even though the podium has been more elusive on the national stage, she has consistently qualified and competed in six National Senior Games and commands the attention of admiring swimmers and spectators alike whenever her name is announced. The reason: Vivian is blind.

The disability has not been the only challenge in her life. When Vivian was seven years old her mother died from complications during childbirth for twins. The doctors gave her father the unthinkable decision whether to save the mother or the children, and the weight of the choice left him unable to care for his family. Vivian and her four siblings became foster children. Then, at 19 and with two children of her own, a congenital disease deprived her of her sight.

Instead of feeling sorry for her hard knock life, Vivian resolved to get a college degree and became a Head Start early learning instructor. She prides herself for being the first blind teacher in the Long Beach school system, and gives thanks for her marriage of 34 years and that her own children have enjoyed normal, healthy lives.

That’s not the whole story, however. Vivian didn’t think she would be able to afford to make the trip to Cleveland for the 2013 National Senior Games Presented by Humana. She was surprised to find that she had been nominated and awarded one of two hardship scholarships made available from the David D. Hurford Memorial Fund endowed through the National Senior Games Association Foundation. Humbled by this selection, Vivian resolved to pay it forward. Four months after The Games, she created the  Vivian Stancil Olympian Foundation with a mission to assist seniors and at risk youth to participate in sports and fitness. She’s already received enough support to start awarding grants. As our conversation amply demonstrates, Vivian may not have sight but she does possess great vision and the perseverance to continue to realize her Personal Best.

Let’s start with the obvious question: How did you become blind?

I went all the way through high school and wasn’t having any vision problems. When the problems started I didn’t know what was going on and went to an eye doctor, and he didn’t even know what it was. He thought he needed to treat me for a nerve condition. He sent me to the Jules Stein Eye Institute in Los Angeles and right away they knew it was retinitis pigmentosis.

It was really hard on me because I was 19 and had two children at the time. They also told me that it would likely be passed down to my daughter or her children. She’s in her 40’s and hasn’t had any yet. Thank God it didn’t happen to her. They said there was no chance it would affect my son and he has normal children. When I went to South Africa on a mission trip in 2000 I found the people related to me very well because there is a lot of that condition over there.

 

We hear you had a difficult childhood before this happened, too.

I lost my mother at the age of 7. My father was in the military overseas. I remember riding in a taxi with my mom going to the hospital but had no idea she was having twins. My father was called back home and had to make a choice. The doctors told him either the twins or she had to die because of heart complications. He chose for my mom to die. That was devastating because I was very close to my mom. I loved my mom.

 

What a terrible choice to have to make!

Yes, terrible for any man to have to make. So after my mom died, my grandmother wanted to keep all five of us to prevent us from being split up and sent to foster homes.  She knew no one would want to take on five kids. But at that time, California did not allow single women to do that. She went back to Richmond, Virginia and was very heartbroken. We all got split up. Two of my brothers and I were taken by a lady but she didn’t like the boys and called the social workers to take them back.

 

Couldn’t your father take care of you?

After mom died, he started drinking. I also understand there were some words between my grandmother and him. Then he caught tuberculosis and went into the VA hospital. We were separated from him until we got grown. I never knew anyone from his side of the family.

 

Wow. What a way to enter adulthood.

I can’t tell you I ever had a real child’s life. I didn’t have much chance to play kick ball or softball and such. I think that’s why I do a lot of playing around now and love swimming so much.

But I moved on. I went to L.A. Harbor College for an associate degree, then got my B.A. in education from Southwest College. I also worked on a master’s at Cal State Long Beach. After some consulting work I became a Head Start early learning kindergarten teacher and did that until 1996. I was the first blind teacher in the Long Beach school system.

 

It‘s amazing to imagine how you managed classes of young children.

My kids were different because they were part of a special program for drug babies. I think because I was blind they were very protective of me. They educated me to some things. I wasn’t street smart and had never taken a drug in my life. I used to have share days and this one child brought in something that I thought was powdered sugar. It was two ounces of cocaine and I had to call the police. Another time a girl brought in a bunch of counterfeit money her sister gave her. That was when I said I need to leave and I retired at 49. Really, it was fulfilling though. The paperwork was harder than anything else. And teachers still call me for advice on certain children like this.

 

So you retired and found yourself with time on your hands. Is that when you started swimming?

What happened is I had gained weight and was 300 pounds. I found out I had a heart murmur and my doctor said, “Vivian, if you don’t lose the weight you won’t see your 60th birthday.” I knew I had to start exercising. One of my friends suggested I run in the L.A. Marathon. I tried it but I was too fat, it was too hard on my knees.

Another friend suggested swimming. I always loved the sound of running water, but I was terrified because I did not know how to swim. But I was not going to give into fear and tried it. When I started swim lessons I clung onto the pool edge for dear life. I was crying and could not breathe. My coach Bob Hirschhorn yelled, “Vivian! Get off the wall! You’re not going to learn how to swim that way.” I got so mad, and I wanted to leave and get on with my business. But at the same time I was still fat and wanted to lose the weight.  Then, my heart told me God has not given me a spirit of fear but the power of love and a sound mind. I said “Lord, help me get over this fear” and somehow I did. I’ve been loving it ever since. And I’ve lost a lot of weight and my heart is fine now. My coach was tough but he was also an inspiration to follow through.

 

How did you get into competitive swimming? 

Photo (right) By: Claire Eggers/Brooks Institute

My parks and recs coach sent me to Long Beach State College where I worked with my masters swimming coach. He worked with me very well. At first I was swimming with my head kept out of the water. And there’s a certain way you have to take your strokes and breathe, you know. It took six weeks until I caught onto it.

My first competition was at the Long Beach Olympic Pool, and then I went to Pasadena for the state competition. Somebody there told me I should go to the Nationals. I did, and I can tell you that I loved it. I can remember everything about my first trip, and I remember every state that I’ve been to since. I remember when I went to Pittsburgh in 2005 I got lost and couldn’t find the front door to the swimming venue. I wanted to get into the water so bad I climbed through a window and fell in. And I made it to the pool and had the best time of my life! (Laughs)

 

Well, that brings up a question that you probably hear a lot: How do you know when you are getting to the wall to make your turns?

It is a question I am always asked. First of all, any meet I go to I have to get there early and try out the pool and get a feel for it. They’re not all the same. I count my strokes, and also the lane lines usually make a noise near the ends.

 

Have you ever lost count during a competition?

Oh yes. Matter of fact, I was in a competition in Palm Desert and thought I was in another pool and I turned around too soon. I heard all these people yelling “No! No! No!” so I turned back around real quick. The judges later told me they thought I was putting on some kind of show for them. That was the funniest time! (Laughs heartily)

 

Sounds like you always have a good time.

I do enjoy myself. I really feel like the people in the National Senior Games are family of mine. Even if you don’t win, they are all rooting for you all of the time. Even though I can’t see their eyes I know they support me and I feel very close to them. We are all there for a reason, to be active and enjoying life. At the Nationals I always get a bunch of ladies to go with me to the Celebration of Athletes and we cheer and have the best time.

 

We hear you are a pretty ferocious advocate and recruiter to get others involved too.

There are about 30 senior centers in and around Riverside. Every time there’s senior games I put flyers around. I always ask people about getting into this. I don’t accept it when people say they “can’t” do it. You don’t use the word around me. I just tell people “give it a try.” If you don’t want to go national, you can do it at the local level.

When people see me now, I want them to see my handicap and say if she can do it, then perhaps I can do it too. You should never let life’s little challenges stop you from being all you can be.

 

Last year you were a recipient of one of the two NSGA Hurford scholarships awarded before each National Senior Games that helps cover expenses for athletes with financial hardship. Now we hear you have started your own foundation to help others?

Yes. I wouldn’t have been able to go last year without the help, and I was very touched by that. I was appreciative and cried for a couple of days. And there are many others of all ages who cannot afford to do things like this, even locally.

The Senior Games helped me, and I want to pass it on and help others. That’s a big part of the reason I started the Vivian Stancil Olympian Foundation last year. I would like to be a lifeline to help people in my region, both seniors and youths, to pursue athletics. There was a woman who came to our office last week to ask me how she could learn to swim. She couldn’t afford lessons so we gave her a scholarship for lessons.  I’m so grateful to all the people who have come forth and backed me on this.

 

It’s great that you want to “pay it forward.” You already have an office?

We share an office with another organization called CIONO. It’s a prayer ministry. We collaborate with the city of Riverside and give out food, new clothes and toys to people needing emergency care. I started it with five other women and it’s been going for 16 years now. Once I retired from the Long Beach School District, I said to myself, “What am I gonna do with my life now that I’m out here?” We decided to reach out and help with the community.  We have nonprofit status and solicit help from companies and individuals.

You were also one of 20 senior athletes whose essays earned them assistance with entry fees to their state Senior Games in a contest Post Shredded Wheat conducted with NSGA this year.

Oh yeah! I was laying in bed listening to KFWB radio and I heard this announcement about a contest and I heard “National Senior Games” and I got so excited. I wanted to tell my husband Turner about giving it a try but I knew not to bother him then. “It’s one o’clock in the morning-here she goes again.” (Laughs) The next day I entered and it was such a surprise when these two nice ladies called and told me I won.

 

Well, Post made those selections so it’s great that they think you are special too. It’s really impressive what you have been able to accomplish, even if you were not a blind person.

People look at me and see a blind person. They wonder what is it that a blind person can do? You’re supposed to sit at home and listen to TV and have other people wait on you. Well, I’m not like that. If you can show me how to do it, I can do it. I’m a good house cleaner, I’m a good cook, and I love to entertain. My friends all know how particular I am about how things are set up.

Sometimes people want to limit me because I have a disability. I’m just different, that all. I’ve always liked to give a helping hand more than being helped. So that’s what I’m doing.

Forever 21 – Karen Newman, 52, New Greenwich, Connecticut

It would be easy to survey the athletic accomplishments of seven time All- American triathlete Karen Newman and assume her road has been a relatively easy one. Of course, a natural runner with an intensely competitive attitude would be able to return to form after taking a break to marry and have three kids. Nothing that extraordinary about earning a place on Team USA’s amateur triathlon squad at age 40, traveling the world and becoming the fastest American on more than one occasion-that’s just what great athletes do, right? Winning Gold in the 50-55 division in her first try at the 2013 National Senior Games Presented by Humana?  Easy for a person with her athletic gift.

The numbers don’t tell the whole story, though. As a youth, Karen had to overcome a physically debilitating eating disorder, one so severe that she feared she might never have children. The experience helped shape the future as she earned a master’s degree in clinical nutrition and still pursues a career as a registered dietician. And it takes much more than raw talent to come back after childbearing years. But the kicker is that Karen Newman continues to excel even after a harrowing battle with breast cancer. A fire based in deep faith in God and fueled by an intense desire to persevere has transformed her life and forged a new sense of purpose to help show the way to others.

Yet, there is an incredible story in the numbers after all. Karen’s first child was born on July 21. The National Senior Games triathlon in Cleveland was scheduled on July 21. It was also her son’s 21st birthday on that date. Even more amazing, when she pulled out her race number at registration…you guessed it, 21. Coincidence? You’ll never convince Karen Newman of that!

 

What was the background on this amazing “21” story that happened in Cleveland?

I suffered from a severe eating disorder back when I was younger. It was really tragic…I did a lot of damage to myself. I know it was only God’s grace that saved me. So when I got married I was worried if I would be able to have children. My husband and I prayed in church that we could have a healthy baby boy.  The next week I was pregnant and our son was born on July 21st. The triathlon for Nationals was scheduled for July 21st.  And my son’s 21st birthday was going to be on that day. That was extraordinary enough, but when I went to the village to pick up my bib number it was…21!  I cried because I knew it meant that God had planned everything this way all the way back when He was so kind to give me a beautiful son and blessed us with two more.  I want to tell everyone that He loves and cares about all of us and could even pick this number 21 to show me. I am in awe that He brought me through this valley to lift me up on that mountaintop. There have been so many mountaintop miracles like this that I could share with you.

 

What got you going with sports?

I always loved running, there was just something about it that made me happy. When I was a little girl I would race every boy in the neighborhood or anyone who would want to race me. When I got to high school my father said “OK, you have a choice: you can be on a varsity sport or you can work after school.” Of course I wanted to run. Fortunately the school offered cross country for girls. We ran with the boys because there weren’t that many girls doing it back then.

I left high school thinking I was great, because I was MVP and captain of my team. But when I came to the University of Vermont I ran only one season on their cross country team. It turned out there were girls there who went on to the Olympics, including Judi St. Hilaire and Leslie Bancroft. We competed against Joan Benoit, who was running for Maine. It was just an amazing team and top competition and since I was not even in the top five (only their times counted), I lost interest the following year, didn’t participate in sports and instead met my husband to be.

 

How did you start doing triathlons?  – (Photo (Right) by: Makenzie L. Goodman/ Brooks Institute)

I had always wanted to do a triathlon. When I was younger I did swim-a-thons to find a cure for cancer- isn’t that interesting?  So after college I heard about the Montauk Triathlon going on that weekend and decided to do it on a fluke. I didn’t own a bike so I borrowed one. It was too big for me and I had to stand up on it the entire time-it was so ridiculous! (Laughs) The wet suit I borrowed for the swim was also too big and filling with water.  I felt I was drowning. The weather was freezing and they were pulling people out for hypothermia, but I wouldn’t stop.  In the run I couldn’t feel my toes but I managed the 6.2 miles.

When I got to the finish line I thought “I love this!”  That’s, crazy, right? (Laughs again) 

It put a dream in my heart and I did a few more. Then I got married and had children, but that dream was still there. As soon as I finished nursing my last child I told my husband I want to try to make the U.S. Amateur Triathlon Team. I was 40 when I finally got to go to Team USA trials in Lake Placid. I was fighting bronchitis but there was only one day to do it so I had to go even though I was hacking.  The good thing is that the water was so freezing cold that they shortened the swim. I was really far behind when I got out but I had a good bike segment and a really great run. Coming down the track I just managed to pass a girl to place as fourth woman and took the last spot. I made the team.  It was so fantastic. I was so proud to wear the U.S. uniform. I just love love love triathlon.

---

Then you faced your biggest competition…against breast cancer.

I was diagnosed with cancer when I was 46 and it was a difficult journey because it took over two years to find out.

When I first had a lump in my breast the doctor told me the mammogram was OK and it was nothing. A year later, it got bigger so they did a biopsy – but the tech took it from the wrong place and it came back negative. So another year goes by and now my lymph nodes in my arm are inflamed. I was dismissing it since I was working out a lot to keep on Team USA but it became a marching, tingling sensation and I knew something wasn’t right.  Next was an MRI but it was delayed because you have to be a certain number of days in your (menstrual) cycle to do it and mine was all over the place. It took nine months to schedule it…can you imagine?   Still, something weird was going on because I couldn’t feel my fingers and the lymph nodes under my arm were really big. It was time to find out what was going on.

The news was terrible – this time they confirmed it was cancer and it had advanced. Then came all those unbelievable trials -the chemotherapy, four surgeries, the radiation treatments. I had some of the worst “cording” the doctors have ever seen. Cording is when the lymph and blood vessels scar up so much they form these cords that look like strings. They caused my shoulder to pull forward and my ribcage to move up-it literally twisted my spine and my whole body.

 

It’s amazing that you even survived, let alone returned to competitive form. Is it true you did a triathlon while still under treatment?

Yes, I was right in the middle of some chemo but I had a purpose. I was determined to be with the US amateur triathlon team at the world championships in Vancouver in June 2008. I called Tim Yount , the team coach, and told him “I’ve got cancer and I know I’m not going to do well, but I want to do this for everybody battling cancer. I want them to know that life doesn’t stop and this is not going to get me.” Tim was so nice and said they would be honored to have me.

It was the hardest thing I’ve ever, ever done. I can tell you God helped me finish that race.  It was really challenging trying to swim again, and they pulled tons of people from the water because it was so cold. They even cut off the swim portion after my wave left and turned it into a biathlon. But I refused to quit. It took me 30 minutes to get my wet suit off and put on my cycling shoes- I had no feeling in my fingers. I lost a lot of weight in that race. As I ran in coach Yount handed me an American flag and I saw all these people from around the world cheering me on over the finish line. It’s going to make me cry just thinking about it now. It was one of the greatest experiences I could ever have, to reach my goal to finish.

 

So now you are in remission and competing at a high level again. How did you find Senior Games?

I was at a running event in Vermont and Don Kjelleren, who is really involved with the games there, told me “You have to come compete in our triathlon.”  So I went and won the race! Don came up to me again and said “You just qualified for the National Senior Games-you are now an Olympian. You have to go to Nationals!”

I was so excited and immediately booked my room for Cleveland. You guys did an incredible job with everything. I enjoyed going to the athlete village and the opening ceremony. And what could be better than to run by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? (Laughs)

 

How did your National Senior Games experience compare to other events you’ve been in?

It was such a different atmosphere than other events. At the World Triathlon Championships people are much, much more just about competition. Athletes were still competitive at the Senior Games, but everyone was so friendly and nice and supportive. Before the triathlon race, I told my amazing “21” story to the other athletes and they got everyone together and we all said a prayer. All of us were hugging each other and rooting each other on.  I’ve never seen anything like that at a competition. And then to go out and win my race…it was such an incredible day.

 

So what do you tell others that aren’t as active as you are? You’re an elite runner and athlete, how do you get them to relate to your example?

Well, I’m also a clinical dietician and a coach so I’m always trying to motivate people. I usually ask them “What is your favorite thing? What do you love to do or would like to do?” They don’t have to be a runner. There’s eight million other things to do. There’s swimming, or they may like Zumba. If they say “painting” I say OK, let’s take a walk and you can paint about what you see. If you only have ten minutes you can turn on some music and dance. Whatever it is, do something you love. You can transform yourself faster than you can believe.

The other thing that is extraordinary to motivate people is to use the buddy system. When you do things with a buddy you wind up relying on each other and spurring each other on.

 

How do you keep in shape? Do you train all the time?

We have a place in Vermont and that’s where I train a lot.  I take the winter off from triathlon training and do cross country skiing and snowshoeing. My husband and I play paddle tennis too. He’s very athletic and loves tennis. We do play some tennis together. But I love triathlon and he prefers tennis, and that’s good because we are both so intensely competitive.

 

What inspires you?

I’m so inspired by athletes with disabilities. And I coach kids at the Greenwich town track where we live. We have about 130 in the Greenwich Track club and some have disabilities or are overweight and don’t have self esteem. My biggest love is coaching and giving kids hope when they think they can’t do anything, helping them start out and watching them go around the track. It empowers them. Sports can change people’s lives.

My uncle is a personal inspiration. He’s big on running and has done over 60 marathons. He urged me to get into the Chicago Marathon with barely any training when I was 25. He’s 86 now and still runs every day. I’ve got to get him into Senior Games!

 

What other interests are you pursuing?

I’m writing this book about my experiences that God put on my heart. The title is “Just Three Words” with the tagline “Live your Life Transformed” The response to my story from agents and publishers has been incredible. One said “I think we could turn this into a movie.” Wouldn’t that be awesome? The Senior Games will be highlighted!