Don’t leave Lance Bell alone near the three-point line. He’ll take you to the hoop.
He turns 68 next month.
“I work out because this is something I’m planning on doing until I can’t,” Bell said, “and in order to do that, I have to maintain my physical conditioning.”
That’s why playing last month in the first-ever 60-and-up game at the Hoop for Coop Men’s Health Fair and Basketball Tip Off was about more than basketball. It was about staying active, having fun and showing other old school ballers that age doesn’t have to limit activities.
Bell scored two points as his team, Old School #2, lost to Old School #1, 42-24.
Rudy Murry, a Central Hower alumni, said activities don’t have to be as physically demanding as basketball, as long as you’re doing something to improve or maintain mental and physical health.
“We’re not trying to hurt one another,’ said Murry, 62. “Yeah, we do get competitive a little bit, but we just want to enjoy it and enjoy life.”
Many of the players who participated in the seniors game at the Hoop for Coop event — including Bell and Murry — also play basketball around town, from Still Here to the Silver League, which plays at the Summit Lake Community Center.
For Bart Skinner, aside from playing basketball on the weekends, he works out at Planet Fitness at least five times a week. You’ll find Murry cycling on trails and walking.
“I would like to see other people just get out and do it, even if you don’t play basketball,” said Skinner, whose team won the 60-and-up game. He’s a retired METRO RTA employee. He’ll be 70 later this year.
How about Bell, who retired from the City of Akron as a web analyst and served in the United States Air Force? He plays basketball on Saturday mornings at the Lawton Street Community Center.
Each year, Jerome Moss, curator of the Hoop for Coop tournament and executive director of Guys & Gals Community Partnership, adds something to the annual event, which includes a health fair.
Last year, the women’s game was introduced.
And this May marked the first 60-and-up men’s game.
“Some older gentleman reached out to me and was like, ‘We would love to participate and we could add an element to it,’” Moss said. “I was like, ‘You don’t understand. I’ve been trying to get it for years.’”