Dave Pitts, 52, has been a volleyball player since he was a teenager. He plays about three times a week now, and he plays pickleball three days a week. He says he likes being competitive at his age.
“Sometimes people will size you up and (say), ‘Oh, look at this guy. We’re going to walk all over him,’ Pitts says. “Next thing you know, you’re schooling them on the volleyball court.”
Pitts, of St. Petersburg, is among legions of people in their fifties and beyond who have found that staying active keeps them healthy, energetic and clear-headed. Keeping active is one of the key factors in staying healthy into old age, research shows. And you don’t need to be an athlete: The Centers for Disease Control recommends that adults get 150 minutes of exercise a week, perhaps a brisk, 30-minute walk each day for five days; plus muscle strengthening exercises on two days of the week.
“I’m not a gym guy,’’ Pitts says. “I like the friendly competition and camaraderie and sunshine. And all that stuff is why I think I gravitate toward doing those things. I like biking, too, which doesn’t have those elements.’’
He remembers a time in his twenties when he attended a birthday party, asked the guest of honor’s age, and found out he had just turned 70.
“I’m like, ‘Seventy!.’ I said that’s my new idol, so I remembered him and really wanted to make sure I’m active throughout my life,” Pitts says. “So that’s been a key motivator for me, too.”
Boosting energy, mobility, clarity
Many such motivators are found at the Tampa Bay Active Life Games, formerly called Tampa Bay Senior Games, which took place from Oct. 1 to Oct. 13 in multiple locations.
At 67, Cathy Coale, standing near the track at Tampa’s Gaither High School on a cool Sunday morning, awaits the start of the 50-meter race. It’s the first of three events in her age group she entered at the games. It’s her first time entering an official track and field event, she says, though she’s been a runner most of her life.
“It really has done a lot for my energy, my mobility, my clarity,’’ she says. “And compared to my other friends that are my age, I’m much more active. I’m able to get up and down easily and even some of them at this point are having issues. And I eat a plant-based diet as well.”
The retired investment banker and her husband, Jeff Coale, have kept active through the years.
“She’s a better runner than I am. I’m a better cyclist than she is,’’ says Jeff Coale, 61.
As it turns out, Cathy Coale’s routine of running three miles six days a week – and biking 30 miles – pays off. She wins silver medals in the women’s 50-meter and 100-meter races and the gold medal for women’s long jump. That qualifies her to compete in the Florida Senior Games in Pasco County in December.
About 450 seniors took place in this year’s games, says Troy Stewart, coordinator of the games for the Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation Department. It’s a combined effort with the city of Tampa and Friends of the County Parks.
Stewart, who took over the job two years ago, says participation was down at that time because of the pandemic but has increased each year since.
Participants have to be at least 50 years old and there is no maximum age limit. A year or two ago, the oldest competitor in the track and field events was 93.
“He ran the 400-meter,’’ Stewart says. “That’s one lap around the track.’’
Picking up pickleball
On a Friday morning at North Lakes Park in Tampa, the pop of balls against rackets fills the air. It’s the pickleball tournament, and it’s no surprise that Patti Baldino and Kris Nelson are silver medal winners in their age bracket in women’s doubles. They are veteran players, both taking up the game in 2019. They play every day for about two hours starting at 7 a.m.
“It keeps you young, your mind sharp, competitive,’’ says Baldino, 58.
She owned a restaurant and catering business on the New Jersey shore. She closed the business in 2020 and she and her husband moved to Florida. Until she discovered pickleball, she played tennis. Pickleball is better, she says.
“It’s easier to get a game. Four people for tennis – it’s difficult to get that many people to commit, to show up. Pickleball, you just show up anywhere, play as long as you want, come when you want, leave when you want, and you can improve quickly,’’ she says. “It’s fun and it’s free.’’
Nelson, 59, was a runner in college and ran for decades, but she now plays pickleball more.
Because she had never played a racquet sport, she says, she had to work on hand-eye coordination at first.
“It took me a while because it’s different,’’ says Nelson, a retired Maryland state trooper. She has significantly reduced running in favor of pickleball.
“If I’m not playing then I do go out for a run, but this is more social,’’ she says. “I get the same calorie burn if not more.’’
Pickleball player Tom Murray, 72, is a former Massachusetts high school athletic director.
“I refer to pickleball as old man tennis, because you don’t have to be real fast. Any age level can play,’’ he says.
He was always active, he says, just because of what he did. But he was too busy to get in a good workout every day.
“I retired when I was 57,” Murray says. “I said now my job is to take care of me. And so that’s when I really started to focus on making sure I was doing something.’’
He loves the fact that he can play year-round in Florida, even if it’s cold outside.
“What am I going to do in January up in Massachusetts? I’m not going to be out here,’’ he says.
“It’s added 10 years to my life, I tell people up there,” Murray says. “Up there I’d be what they call FDH – fat, dumb and happy.’’
For more information, go to Tampa Bay Active Life Games and CDC guidance for adults over 50.
This story is produced through an underwriting agreement with AARP Tampa Bay to spotlight the live, work, play and stay options in Tampa Bay for people over 50 and seniors.