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In Depth: Athletes of Age: Living to Play

Posted on: Tuesday, 27 September 2005, 12:00 CDT

By Todd Dewey

By TODD DEWEY

REVIEW-JOURNAL

Dick de Leuze rounded third, crossed home plate and collapsed, a victim of cardiac arrest.

Dr. Tony Rivera and other fellow players in the Las Vegas Senior Softball Association feverishly tried to revive him but could not.

Fortunately, paramedics were able to bring him back, and it wasn't long before the 74-year-old was back on the field.

Just six months after surviving his brush with death, de Leuze -- armed with two stents and a defibrilator -- resumed playing in his beloved softball league.

"I've been dead once, what else can happen?" he joked after playing left field on a recent perfect day at Desert Breeze Park. "My wife (Carlene) said that was the way I wanted to go -- round third, score at home and drop dead. And that's what happened." Quitting the game was never a consideration for de Leuze, who lives for it.

"I love it. I wouldn't quit playing Las Vegas senior softball for anything in the world. It's a family," he said. "If I die, it will be with a smile on my face."

Listening to de Leuze tell his tale, 80-year-old Lary Groth, a former league president, wasn't impressed.

"They took me out of the park twice, but I wasn't flat-lined like him," joked Groth, enjoying a postgame beer with a bottle of nitroglycerine pills for his heart in his pocket. "I'm not going to quit that easy."

Groth and de Leuze are among thousands of senior citizens in Southern Nevada who live out the adage "You don't stop playing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop playing."

Nevada features the fastest-growing senior population in the United States, and in Clark County -- where those age 55 and older comprise 20 percent of the population -- there are a seemingly endless array of activities for one to participate in through the golden years.

The LVSSA alone features 329 men and women, age 50 and older, including 53 over 75, and close to 900 athletes are expected to compete in this year's 25th annual Nevada Senior Olympics, an event scheduled to start today and run through Oct. 9.

Master-planned senior communities such as MacDonald Ranch in Henderson and Sun City Summerlin and its sister properties offer everything from bocce and golf to swimming and yoga to its residents.

Along with myriad health clubs and public swimming pools and parks available for use across the valley, many senior centers and gyms dot the desert landscape, not to mention a plethora of pristine paths for walking, jogging and biking.

The benefits of staying active are bountiful, as evidenced by the fact that people are living longer and more fulfilling lives.

A 10-year study conducted at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York has shown that the way people live, not their genes, largely determines whether or not they'll have fruitful senior years.

Researchers concluded that physical activity, social interaction and a healthy outlook are key components of successful aging, or staying physically and mentally healthy late in life.

"People are retiring earlier in life and living longer in life, and as long as you love sports, you can continue to really compete, even into the very, very senior levels of chronological age," said 70-year-old Al Vera, former president of the LVSSA. "It's a really pleasant experience to come out to our tournament and watch 80-year- olds play. It is phenomenal.

"A lot of the guys in our organization have played ball all their lives. I wonder how I can do what I'm doing. I'm 70 and I never thought I'd be playing ball the way I am now."

The LVSSA, which plays Tuesday and Thursday mornings at several parks around town, is currently hosting a World Master's tournament featuring more than 200 teams.

The league's players, who range in age from 50 to amazing 87- year-old Marty Schmitz, might not be as fleet of foot as they once were -- and many play on artificial knees and hips, after strokes and heart bypass surgeries, with pulled muscles and pacemakers -- but their competitive fire burns as bright as ever, and many of them can still hit and play defense at a high level.

"I've been a ballplayer all my life and it's just in my blood. It's just part of me," said 73-year-old Guy Grasso, a former professional baseball player who was part of the New York Yankees organization in the 1950s. "It's a great way to get some exercise, compete and travel all over the country. It's better than sitting at home on the couch."

Like the LVSSA, the Nevada Senior Olympics -- which hosts 35 different events, from archery and ballroom dancing to volleyball and weight lifting -- features many inspirational athletes, including 97-year-old swimmer Grace Hiddleson, a happy-go-lucky grandmother of 24 who happens to be blind.

"Honey, I've been swimming since I've been born. It's the love of my life," Hiddleson said. "All my doctors told me I wouldn't be alive if I weren't a swimmer."

Giving athletes like Hiddleson and an 80-year-old female pole vaulter a chance to stay active is the main reason the games were started in Las Vegas in 1980, when 17 athletes competed in one event, track and field.

Now, close to 3,000 athletes compete in seven different senior games throughout the state.

"The essence of this program is to encourage seniors to stay active and healthy, and to have some social interaction. You meet new people," said Al McDaniels, former longtime track and field coach at UNLV and current director of the Nevada Senior Olympics. "It's a fun thing and a competitive thing. For some people who are depressed, who may have lost spouses, this keeps them going.

"It gives them challenges and goals to work for, and it keeps them in touch with other people instead of shutting themselves off from society."

Many studies have shown that exercise can help prevent strokes, osteoporosis, heart disease and even depression and dementia.

Exercise also builds strength and endurance; improves movement in joints and muscles; makes lungs function more efficiently; increases mental alertness and reflexes; speeds up the elimination of waste from the body; reduces anxiety and improves well-being, concentration, sleep and more.

Studies also show that it's never too late to start exercising. At any age, even small improvements in physical fitness and activity, such as walking regularly, can prolong life and independent living.

"I'm not a doctor, but when you continuously exercise your mind and body, it will help you keep that edge, and maintain health and good mental stability," Vera said. "And we develop a camaraderie that doesn't exist unless you belong to an organization. A lot of players say it's something like this that keeps them going.

"Several players have told me that if it wasn't for this, they'd be dead. The only thing that keeps them going is knowing they can come here to play ball."

Rivera, a 74-year-old retired pediatrician, advises his fellow senior citizens to get out and play.

"It's important to stay active. Get out of the casinos, come out and get some fresh air and sunshine. We have the chance to play 52 weeks a year here," he said. "I love the game. You stay in good shape, and, more importantly, it's great camaraderie, the fellowship -- and the cold beer afterwards."

In keeping with softball tradition, a handful of players typically will have a couple of cold ones after a game -- on the advice of Dr. Rivera, of course. "Alcohol is a preservative," he joked. "Water will rust out your insides."

NEVADA SENIOR OLYMPICS

What: 25th annual Nevada Senior Olympics, featuring 35 different events: archery, badminton, dance, basketball, basketball skills, bocce, bowling, croquet, cycling, Frisbee, golf, golf skills, golf nine holes, horseshoes, paddle tennis, pistol shoot, pool, race walk, racquetball, road race, roller skating, obstacle course, shuffleboard, softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, track and field, trap skeet, triathlon, triathlon relay, volksmarch, volleyball, walk-a-thon, weight lifting/fitness.

When: Today through Oct. 9

Where: At several locations throughout the valley. For a schedule of events, visit nevadaseniorolympics.com (242-1590).

Source: Las Vegas Review - Journal

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