Art and Practice: Staying in the Game for the Long Term
By Andrew Walker, MPH; NSGA Director of Health & Well-Being
When I think of longevity in sports, I think of professional athletes Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Cal Ripken, Muhammad Ali, Venus Willams and Tom Brady, and Olympians Simone Biles, Edwin Moses, Carl Lewis and Al Oerter, who all competed at the highest levels past the traditional age for their sport.
Four-time Olympian Al Oerter. Photo courtesy Cathy Oerter.
Athletic longevity is seen as the exception and is only somewhat valued among professional athletes. In contrast, participants in the National Senior Games consider playing their sport for a lifetime as a hallmark of aging well and want to stay in the game as long as they can.
While most of the research in athletic longevity is focused on youth sports and not older adults, there are several key practices that apply to both age groups. Being able to compete long-term involves several elements including sports participation, training practices, injury history, genetics and psychological factors.
The good news? Most of these variables are things we can control. Complementary sports sampling, cross training and an artist’s mindset are key ways to help you keep playing at any age.
Sports Sampling
Although sport-specific training is necessary, research is finding specialization in sports at early ages is not associated with lifelong sports participation. One bit of wisdom that applies to sports is the phrase, “Variety is the spice of life.” In the athletic world, this is known as sports sampling, which involves identifying and participating in complementary sports. This could look like a Track & Field athlete playing Tennis or Pickleball.
The idea is that playing a complementary sport gives your body a break from performing the exact same movements as your primary sport. It also allows you to move in different ways which may positively impact brain health by stimulating different parts of your brain.
Trying a complementary sport also decreases repetitive stress injuries. Young athletes who participate in multiple sports experience fewer repetitive injuries that are also common among adult athletes.
Burnout and joint-related injuries are also associated with intense participation in only one sport. Project Play of the Aspen Institute identified key risks for overuse injuries that can be applied to older adults. Anyone’s risk for injuries increases when:
- A sport activity requires a high volume of repetitive motion and time on task.
- Practicing and competing without adequate rest and recovery time.
- Experiencing recuring injuries in similar parts of the body.
Cross Training
Another approach that enhances sports longevity is using cross training in your fitness program. Cross training is exercising using multiple types of activities that provide variation in intensity and type. The hallmark of this method is that it allows us to maintain intensity of training while using a different type of fitness or sporting activity. This is especially important in off-season and preseason fitness maintenance and development.
Like sports sampling, cross training decreases the likelihood of injuries. For example, a swimmer can try cycling or running to maintain cardio fitness. And what better time to try a new activity than during the first quarter of the year.
An Artist’s Mindset
Mindset is another an important part of the long game of Senior Games sports. Embracing the mindset of an artist is essential to longevity in many skill-based activities, including sports. When you approach your sport as a craft, notice the fine details and appreciate subtleties, it helps keep athletics fresh and engaging.
Artwork by Olympian Al Oerter. Image courtesy Cathy Oerter.
One athlete who lived this out was four-time Olympian Al Oerter. In addition to being an athlete, Al was an artist who supported the Olympic Movement by creating shared spaces for appreciating the arts, sports and culture through the Art of the Olympians project.
Al’s wife Cathy shared this reflection on his approach to his sport. “Al said, ‘Throwing is like coming home.’ He loved and enjoyed the sport he had chosen and was dedicated to the thrill of being at his best. Competition acted as a test of his capabilities. He also loved working hard for an elusive goal. And it was a form of meditation that allowed him to be at peace with what he loved doing.”
So now when you see National Senior Games Association’s slogan, “Long Live the Challenge,” you will be inspired to apply new methods to stay in The Games for a lifetime!
- Published in Health & Well-Being, News and Events
2023 National Senior Games Presented by Humana Receives SportsEvents’ Annual Readers’ Choice Award
Contact:
Brenda Burns
Publisher
866-572-5633 x230
bb****@********************up.com
RICHMOND HILL, Ont.—Thanks to popular vote, 2023 National Senior Games presented by Humana will receive a 2024 SportsEvents Readers’ Choice Award in the category of Best Live or Virtual Sporting Event.
Starting in November, event planners and rights holders nominate the individuals, venues, and events they believe deserve special recognition. The nominees are then compiled onto an online ballot where professionals and fans are asked to vote for the best of the best. With 3,000 voters participating in the selection process and the highest social media interaction to date, this has been among the most successful and engaging year yet!
“SportsEvents readers have once again voted to select the top sports events venues, events, partners and planners from across the country, and it is no surprise to us that 2023 National Senior Games presented by Humana has been selected to receive an annual Readers’ Choice Award,” said SportsEvents publisher Brenda Burns. “This prestigious recognition comes from top sports events industry professionals who hold events across the U.S. These planners demand the highest level of customer service and quality facilities, and they have determined that they indeed display the commitment to professionalism, creativity, and service that they require.”
Congratulations to 2023 National Senior Games presented by Humana for receiving this 2024 Readers’ Choice Award. They will be featured as an award recipient in the February 2024 Awards Issue of SportsEvents magazine.
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- Published in News and Events, Press Releases
Mother Follows her Children to Get on Track
January 2024 Athlete of the Month
By Del Moon, NSGA PR Specialist
Vickie Liddell, 67
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
We all know the story about the old woman who lived in a shoe with so many children she didn’t know what to do. Vickie Liddell had 10 children, but she knew just what to do with them – nine participated in track and field competitions. And when Vickie retired, they inspired her to take up running and jumping for the first time as a senior athlete.
“People have said that nursery rhyme to me before,” she says with a laugh. “But the kids came one at a time and were provided for one at a time. It really wasn’t a chore.”
Vickie says two of her first three children naturally gravitated to the sport, and the rest were drawn in due to an ice storm in Arkansas in 2000. “We were without power and frozen in for a week, huddled at our fireplace. We read an article that said ‘Are you tired of cabin fever? Come out to track and see what you have.’ It was an AAU track club using indoor facilities at the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff (UAPB), and my husband James said, ‘Let’s go see what it’s about,’” she recalls. “So we went out there with our six youngest still living with us. They all got involved.”
She then proudly shares that all participated in high school and Junior Olympics and two of her daughters continued to compete on scholarship at UAPB. “My son Joshua was in National Junior Olympics for three years and went on to play football at Arkansas,” she says. “Jelicia, my 32-year-old, started her own track club after college in Jacksonville, Florida. The only child who didn’t do track was Eric, and he played baseball and went into the military.”
There weren’t sports opportunities for girls in Vickie’s high school, but her turn came when she retired from a 22-year career as a high school band director and music teacher. “All of my kids are also musicians,” she proudly adds.
Vickie and her coach, Louis Moss.
“I enjoyed watching the kids compete, but I didn’t recognize I liked running until I started trying track and field myself,” she says. She convinced Louis Moss, the same AAU coach that trained her children, to teach her the ropes. He had never coached a senior, but his concerns melted as Vickie quickly took on her tasks.
“I wish I had about 40 kids like her,” Moss told the Arkansas Gazette-Democrat about Vickie. “She has what you look for in an athlete. She’s got that competitiveness. She’s gonna be on time. She’s got confidence.”
The results speak for themselves. Since first showing up in late 2019, Vickie has already amassed 68 medals in her 65-69 age group (62 gold, four silver, two bronze) which includes one gold, three silver and one bronze earned at the past two National Senior Games.
She was thrilled to win a national long jump event in 2023. “I was ranked fourth in distance beforehand with the other long jumpers, so I felt I had an opportunity,” she recalls. “But I was still pleasantly surprised when I won. I love to fly through the air!”
Vickie is happy she took the first step, and so are her children. “They love what I’m doing. Two of my children are my go-to coaches besides Louis, and it depends how I’m feeling who I call,” she says laughing. “If I want to push myself, I call Jelicia, who will tell me I got to get it done. But if I feel like taking it easier, I call my son Joshua, who will tell me ‘You know, mom, you have to enjoy life. Just do what you can do.’ I’m blessed to have them and Louis to help me.”
Vickie with all 10 of her children and other family members at her retirement party.
The fact that her children all learned to play in school marching band and also ran track brought up a parallel question: Did Vickie think she was coaching physical fitness as well as music to all of her students over the years?
“I understand now why I wanted to do track. In band, teamwork is important but there’s physical exercise in practicing and marching,” she says. “In the summer I would always make them do laps to get into condition. I jogged with them and told them if I beat them, they had to do another lap,” she says with a chuckle. “My own kids came through my band program, and they even recruited some of their athlete friends to join the band. I joked with their coaches that all of my kids needed credit for PE because they worked more than their own athletes!”
- Published in Athlete of the Month