Grannies enjoy hooping it up on the court
At age 67, Kathleen Eaton thought she was doing pretty well to be playing tennis and racquetball regularly and doing aerobics at the local rec center.
And yet, something was missing.
So when the Sleepy Hollow artist read a column I wrote about a year ago about the creation of a Granny Basketball league in Chicago, she was beyond intrigued.
"One of the bad things about getting older is that you don't have any opportunities for team sports anymore," Eaton said. "Individual sports and swimming and classes at the gym are fine, but playing team sports is really enjoyable. The teamwork is fun and there's a camaraderie there that I find really great.
"Your article got me excited because I've always liked basketball. When I was in school, there was nothing really organized, but we did have intramurals and I really enjoyed that. I thought it would be great to play again so I went down (to Chicago) and did the tryouts and I followed through with it."
She sure did.
On Nov. 16, Eaton and her teammates from the "Shooting Stars" will be vying for a league championship at the Homan Square Community Center on the city's West Side.
For the last eight months they have been practicing weekly, if not more, and playing in monthly games as members of the four-team Grand All-Star League for Seniors, which is for women age 50 or older. There are about 50 players in the league, and Eaton believes the oldest is 73.
"I think it's great that someone in her 70s can keep going," Eaton said. "I don't know how many more years I have left. I hope it's that many.
"Right now I feel really good after games and practices. Once you sit down and drive home, you feel a little stiff. But it's not bad. Generally, I think everyone feels better that they're playing. Some people have arthritis and they say their arthritis is better, their joints are better. You just feel good getting out there and moving around."
In "Granny Ball," the format is 3-on-3 full-court basketball. The court is divided into three sections - the backcourt, midcourt and forecourt. The catch is that each player must stay in her section and gets only four dribbles at a time.
"I think that's to keep the game slow enough so that we won't be too injury prone," Eaton said. "It's essentially a passing game. But actually, the games are surprisingly energetic and physical for a bunch of old women playing.
"Every once in awhile we'll scrimmage with some younger women because we need a few extra people to round out the game and they're surprised at how physical and fast it goes."
Eaton has surprised herself at how much she has learned about basketball - and herself.
She's now a pro at the pick and roll, and she never expected to be good enough at basketball to have the confidence to let her husband, Jim, watch a game.
"He hasn't been to a game yet, mostly because I kept telling him early on that I didn't want him to come. I didn't know how I was going to do," laughed Eaton, who says about 50 fans attend each game. "But now that I'm feeling better about how I'm playing, I wouldn't mind it. I have to get him out (to next weekend's tournament games)."
For more information about the Grand All-Star league, visit: www.grandallstarleagues.com.
This and that: Women's college basketball is getting more TV time. ESPN announced recently that it will televise 148 games between its three networks, which include ESPN2 and ESPNU. The Big Ten Network will again televise 55 regular-season women's games, and the league tournament. ... A reader asked me the other day what ever happened to my friend Abby Scalf, whom I wrote about last month on the eve of her first Chicago Marathon. I'm happy to report, despite her knee problems, Scalf finished the race strong, in an official time of 5:57.20.