We Lowered The Score At Age 64

When we reach our sixties, the need to lower scores becomes paramount. Be it the blood pressure, cholesterol, A1C, or PSA scores among others, there’s the need to monitor and keep those scores within a certain range. The same applies to playing basketball. When we’re teenagers we can run all day. In our thirties and forties we can go for awhile, but certain movements are no longer advisable and more rest is needed between games. As a senior, just being able to finish safely and without injury becomes the priority; the game itself becomes secondary. This year my basketball-playing buddy and I have come to terms with the need to play shorter games and, finally, we lowered the score at age 64.

“Are We There Yet?”

A couple of Saturdays ago we decided to go to the courts and get some shots up. On that morning there was a hazy sky but the temperature wasn’t ridiculously hot, nor was it oppressively humid. But there was some of both. And I’m not the only person who has noticed a decrease in tolerance for either as I’ve gotten older.

Over the years, we’ve made a habit of getting to the courts early enough to be all done before the sun moves right overhead, and before the younger folks wake up from a night of intense partying. We’ve also stuck to an enclosed court, surrounded on all sides by fences to avoid spending the morning chasing errant shots all over the city. Both became a must several years ago. But we’ve always played three games where the first to score 11 points wins. That is, until our most recent meeting.

We reduced the winning score to eight.

Objects At Rest Stay At Rest

Admittedly, neither of us have been hitting the courts lately with the same fervor we used to. Stamina was an issue, and the air was a little thick. The shooting percentages were low as was the distance between sneakers and playing surface. But we’re still moving around pretty well. We opted for one regular game followed by a game of HORSE before calling it a morning. And that was the right move.

During the autumn months where we’re most likely to get the perfect weather conditions (sunny, blue skies with occasional cloud cover, low humidity, temps in the 60’s with a breeze) and to hit the courts more frequently, we can probably get back up to 11 points. But if we waited for perfect weather conditions to play, how often would we get a chance to play?

In any event, we’ll play it safe.

So We Lowered The Score At Age 64

When we were growing up, we used to play full-court games where the first team to hit 60 shots wins the game. We’d rest briefly when the first team reached 30 points, then switch baskets. If your team won, you’d stay on the court to play another game of the same length. If your team kept winning, you could stay on the court all day. Those days are gone, of course, and that’s OK. We had our chances to run all day.

So while we’re playing now we might see some younger folks on an adjacent court who appear to be jumping over the backboard, doing crossovers, and running sprints all day, but there’s no need for us to be envious. It’s a blessing just to be able to go to a basketball court in your mid-sixties and get some shots up without dealing with intense pain and having to apply some type of ointment afterwards. It’s nearly as big of a blessing as finding an open court in NYC on a Saturday morning.

Yep, we’re still at it.