YWCA in the News

Hoop Dreams: League Keeps Court Open Past 40

Melpomene Institute Website
www.melpomene.org

As the mother of a professional basketball player, Rita Johnson has watched a lot of basketball games over the years - but play the game? Not until last fall when Johnson was nearing her 50th birthday, did she discover her inner athlete on the court. That’s when her daughter, Tamara Moore of the L.A. Sparks, signed her up for a unique basketball league at the Uptown YWCA in Minneapolis. The Silver Fox League is for women like Johnson, who are over 40 and looking for a fun opportunity to play basketball regardless of their experience or skill level.

Like many of her teammates, Johnson of Minneapolis, says she was a little apprehensive about joining the league, without ever having played basketball before. "I’ve watched Tamara play since she was in sixth grade,” Johnson says. "I know the game, but I didn’t know if I could [play it]. It was a bit of a challenge at first but now I can play the whole game. And I’m actually good at it. They see me coming,” she says laughing.

League coordinator, Lauri Ludeman, a former collegiate basketball player, started the Silver Fox Basketball League last year because she was almost 40 herself and realized that although there were several leagues available for younger women there were few opportunities for the over 40 set. "I wanted women 40 and over to have a safe and welcoming place to play the game,” says Ludeman, who has also coached basketball for Itasca Community College and Augsburg College. She wanted to give women who grew up on the court a chance to continue playing in their 40s and 50s, but she also hoped to recruit women like Johnson, who maybe missed out on team sports in school. The result is a friendly mix of both experienced and novice players, which seems to work well.

"We welcome everyone,” Ludeman emphasizes. "The best part about that is that the more experienced players have totally taken the beginners under their wings and as a result the level of play and individual skill level has improved,”

The Silver Fox league is has grown from 20 players in the fall to 45 this spring. The league has four teams right now but Ludeman expects to add more next fall. The weekly games are refereed by certified officials and emphasize fun and safety. While there is no formal coaching, the YWCA sponsors free clinics before each season starts so athletes can brush up on their skills and learn the rules of the game. And this summer they will offer a basketball camp with the hopes of recruiting more players. Women's basketball icon Janet Karvonen will be the director. The camp will run three nights: June 13, 14 and 15 from 6:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m. at the Uptown YWCA.

Ludeman says it’s been fun to watch the level of play improve from season to season. "The women have gotten in better physical condition, have learned the rules and developed some really great skills,” she remarks. "The pace of the games has gotten quicker and the intensity greater.”

The intensity is still not as rough as in the younger leagues, which is what keeps players like Nancy Kelly, 45, coming back. Kelly, a guard for the Silver Fox, had to quit playing league basketball at age 30 because of back problems. The slower pace of an older league is just what she needed to get back on the court. "I think what’s nice about the league is that everyone is older and they are just happy to be there,” says Kelly of Minneapolis. She adds, "It’s been a lot of fun. It’s something I did a lot more of when I was younger and I missed not having that in my forties.”

Marge Ross, 44, of Falcon Heights, had never played on a team. When she read an article about the Silver Fox in a local newspaper last December she signed up. "I saw a picture of some older ladies playing basketball and that was what my dream was – to play basketball with women my age in a team setting,” she says. "Playing on a team gave me a challenge at a time when I really didn’t have a challenge to work on,” Ross says. "It makes the feeling of growing older not so bad. There are things to look forward to as an older athlete.”

Ludeman agrees and expects the league will continue growing because she knows many of the younger players are already looking forward to playing on a league when they’re older. "Many of our [younger players] will need a place to play when they turn 40,” she says. "Instead of hanging up their basketball shoes, they know we will be here for them to continue their basketball career.”

Ross sees the Silver Fox players as setting a good example of what it means to be an older female athlete. "Older women aren’t limited to just walking and aerobics. They can do more than that,'' she says. And while like many of the Silver Fox players, Ross has had her share of scrapes and bruises (and even a broken finger) from the game, her athletic toughness may speak for all the women on the court when she says, "It’s a really good feeling to fall down and get back up.''

Registration for the Silver Fox summer season is June 22-July 6, 2006. Individual sign up is $50 or $450 per team. The summer season runs July 11 – Sept. 12, 2006. For more information about the Silver Fox Basketball League call Lauri Ludeman at 612-215-4206 or check out the YWCA website at www.ywcampls.org. All games are played at the Uptown YWCA, 2808 Hennepin Avenue S., Minneapolis.