(WSVN) - This group’s jumping and running may not be what it used to be, but these senior ballers prove that no matter your age, when you have a passion for something, you just do it.
Bucket after bucket, however, the men making the shots are not your average ballers.
“The guys behind me are playing in the 75 and over division, and we still play full-court basketball,” said Masters Basketball Tournament Director Steve Nelson.
If you can stand up and move your legs, you are welcome to play.
These retired grandpas can run a fast break with the rest of them.
“I do appreciate the word run. That’s very nice of you to say what we’re doing is running,” said 74-year-old Robert Heffelfinger. “We never got a delay of the game. I’m proud of that.”
“When you’re upright, you better keep moving or you won’t be upright long,” said 78-year-old Jim Woodruff.
Despite being born in the ’40s and ’50s, for the last 37 years, seasoned players from all over the nation come together for the love of the game.
It’s all part of the Masters Basketball Association’s National Senior Championship, which was recently held in Coral Springs.
For the golden oldies who participate, they can’t imagine life without hoops.
“I don’t know what I’d do with my time if I didn’t have sports,” Woodruff said.
“Fellowship with the players, with the guys, right?” Heffelfinger said. “And I’m actually from Kentucky originally, and it’s in our DNA from Kentucky to play basketball.”
When the old timers are not joking around, they’re as competitive as they come.
“They are great friends and very friendly outside the lines,” Nelson said. “They get inside the lines, and they’re here to compete. They are here to play and win the championship.”
“The intensity is still there, the will to win is still there, but the movements has faded,” Woodruff said. “Still think you can do everything you could when you was younger.”
When asked what they’re dunking at the competitions, one player said “Probably a doughnut.”
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