It's Wednesday. A San Diego basketball league provides competition and joy for women as old as 95. Plus, groups of thieves hit high-end stores in the Bay Area |
 | | Marge Carl, 92, of the Splash shoots against Young at Heart, another San Diego team.John Francis Peters for The New York Times |
|
SAN DIEGO — The sounds spilling from the gym suggested an ordinary basketball game: tennis shoes squeaking against a slick court, hollow thumps of a ball, a referee's shrill whistle. |
But inside was a rare tableau. Older women, some in their 80s and 90s, hustled to pass, steal and shoot. They dribbled and wove skillfully as they sprinted toward the basket. |
Kirsten Cummings, a former professional basketball player, recalled the first time she walked into this Y.M.C.A. in San Diego's Mission Valley neighborhood. |
"There's this group of women who were playing and I was so mesmerized by them. They were 75 years old," Cummings told me. "I got goose bumps." |
"We're very outdoor-oriented, fitness-oriented, so it was a natural thing that Senior Games would flourish here," said Cummings, who grew up in San Diego and now oversees the event. "San Diego has people who don't think twice about learning basketball at the age of 79." |
On a recent Sunday morning, I chatted on the Y.M.C.A. court sideline with Marge Carl, who has played in the women's league since it was founded in the mid-1990s. |
Carl, now 92, wore a blue jersey that matched her bright eyes. Her team, the Splash, which is for women 80 and over, was scheduled to compete in 45 minutes. |
The league includes 75 women across 13 teams, roughly grouped by skill level, who face off every Sunday. The games are three-on-three for 30 minutes on a half court. |
 | | John Francis Peters for The New York Times |
|
But that's kind of her style. She graduated from college in her seventh decade. She retired well into her 80s. |
Carl pointed to her temple and warned me, "This doesn't die unless you let it." |
For her 90th birthday, she went skydiving: "There was a man strapped to my back. How bad could it be?" |
Newbies to the basketball league learn to guard and rebound in its rookie training program. And once on a team, players might have 40 years or more to fine-tune their skills. |
Cummings, who has coached the Splash as a volunteer, said she was initially surprised by the older women's desire to improve. She once slept through a practice and was reprimanded by a player in her 80s. |
"I'll tell you, I never missed practice after that," Cummings said. "The more I coached them the more I got to see past that facade of, you know, they're sweet old ladies. No, these are serious senior athletes." |
 | | The San Diego Senior Women's Basketball Association was founded in the mid-1990s.John Francis Peters for The New York Times |
|
The league also thwarts the slow creep of loneliness that comes with aging. |
Carl told me that her childhood friends have died. Other women have outlived their spouses by decades. Their children are often consumed with the responsibilities of their own families. |
But these teammates meet on the court several times a week. Players have officiated one another's weddings and taken trips together. |
Carl nodded toward a younger woman lacing up her sneakers. This year, she drove Carl to her Covid-19 vaccine appointments. |
"They are the sisterhood," Carl told me. |
 | | The Splash has the oldest roster in the league, with all its players 80 or older.John Francis Peters for The New York Times |
|
Currently, the league's oldest member is 95, but she was recovering from surgery when I visited. Other players were sidelined with injuries or medical conditions that have worsened over the years. The physical toll of aging is rendered in stark relief on the court. |
Marianne Hall, 86, coached women's high school basketball when Title IX was being rolled out. But she hadn't played on a team herself until the 1990s, when her friend told her about San Diego's newly created league. |
"I don't jump anymore," Hall recalled saying. |
"None of us jump," the woman replied. |
When games ceased last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, Hall wondered whether she was too old to return. She worries about falling. Though the league now has a vaccine requirement, many players have not come back since practice started up again in June. |
But Hall, who recently became a great-grandmother, wore her headband and jersey on that Sunday morning. She was ready to play. |
At noon, women scurried onto the court for the next game, between Hall's and Carl's teams. |
Players, many in masks, passed the ball quickly among one another. Some tried to intercept and block shots. |
Within minutes, Carl grabbed hold of the ball. She lifted her arms and heaved it toward the basket. |
If you read one story, make it this |
 | | Container ships offloading at the Port of Los Angeles.Erin Schaff/The New York Times |
|
- Medical device shortage: Port backlogs have led to shortages of medical supplies in California and forced some patients to reuse medical tubes, CalMatters reports.
- Theranos trial: Taking the stand again on Tuesday, Elizabeth Holmes painted herself as someone whose best intentions were misinterpreted.
- Grammy Awards: See the full list of 2022 nominees.
- Housing crunch worsens: At least four U.C. campuses have resorted to housing students in hotels this fall, CalMatters reports.
- Low Covid-19 case rate: California has one of the lowest coronavirus infection rates in the country, but the risk of a winter surge remains, The Associated Press reports.
|
- Weather warning: There is a red flag warning through Friday for parts of Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.
- Drug bust: A trucker attempting to smuggle large amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine was arrested in San Diego, The Guardian reports.
|
- Covid-19 surge: Health officials in the San Joaquin Valley are pleading with the state to make it easier to transfer patients to places like Los Angeles as coronavirus admissions climb, The Los Angeles Times reports.
- Oil spill: Chevron appears to be selling oil from an illegal spill in western Kern County, Capital & Main reports.
|
- Stores ransacked: Groups of thieves raiding high-end stores in the Bay Area are believed to be part of sophisticated criminal networks, The Associated Press reports.
- "San Fransicko" review: This book by Michael Shellenberger raises important questions about homelessness in San Francisco, but his answers are mired in controversy.
- Family killed in crash: Four people from Sacramento County were killed after a driver going the wrong way on Interstate 80 crashed into their vehicle, The Associated Press reports.
|
 | | Linda Xiao for The New York Times |
|
 | | Paddling along the north shore of Lake Tahoe.Jim Wilson/The New York Times |
|
Today's travel tip — or tips, rather — comes from Gretchen Henry: |
It was a lifelong dream to live in California. We settled in Santa Barbara County. Here are my favorite spots to visit that we loved in our 20 years there:1) Just loved the Ojai Valley Inn and Resort in Ojai. A beautiful setting for the gracious building and gardens2) The grocery store and health food store just before you get to Solvang; one can sit outside and picnic in the nearby wineries3) Loved visiting Pasadena — San Marino and the beautiful gardens there4) Palm Desert — especially in the evenings5) Driving through the desert from Santa Barbara to Sacramento6) Of course, Lake Tahoe |
Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We'll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter. |
Do you have a story about a time you saw your parents or elders differently? Share your story with the "Modern Love Podcast" and you might make it onto a future episode. |
And before you go, some good news |
Three Humboldt County students have been selected to play in the Indigenous Bowl — an annual football match honoring 60 of the nation's best high school football players of Native American descent. |
Darvin Davis IV, a student at Hoopa High School and a Yurok tribal member, told Local Coast Outpost that he was looking forward to meeting other young Indigenous players from around the country. The game will be held in Minneapolis on Dec. 5. |
"That's the most exciting part about it," Davis said. "To meet and play with new people and to make new brothers and bonds that I won't ever forget." |
Thanks for reading. I won't be back until Monday because of the Thanksgiving holiday. |
Steven Moity, Mariel Wamsley and Shelby Knowles contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com. |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment