Every Tuesday night in Charleston, Tennessee, thirty women aged 50 to over 80 converge for their weekly women’s group.

Bunko? Book club? Quilting?

Heck, no.  They play ball.  The hardwood sings each week as the orange ball zings all around the gym amidst chatter, laughter, and love for each other.

“You will find ladies lacing up sneakers and strapping on any needed braces and heading to the courts for serious competition.  But we are so much more than basketball and act like a support group”, declares Vickie Haile, player and current manager of the Flash basketball operation.

“We celebrate graduations and weddings and grieve together through losses.  It’s so much more than winning”.

Of late, a new player was added to the mix.  Recently widowed just 6 months prior, as an educator she was in attendance at a teaching conference.  Providentially, she ran into a former high school teammate and fellow teacher whom she had not seen in years.   That teammate encouraged her to unite with the group, leading this former collegiate player to a source of therapy and healing.

Players are a blend of former high school hoops players or gals usually with some high school athletic experience. Several have college basketball under their belts, including two who played for the indomitable Pat Summit.  However, as those school days faded into the past, playing basketball was hard to come by for many women. Pick-up games were sparse.

However, the offering of 3×3 basketball in the Senior Olympics (Games) has afforded an incredible opportunity for these women as they look forward to state and national competition.  They credit the program for “enhanced physical health, psychological well-being, the chance to improve skills, and just plain fun.” Amazing is the fact that the Flash comprise such a large group, representing five age divisions.

Credit for the formation of the Flash is given to founder Mary Tim Burgin, now 83.  Once she discovered the joy of playing in the Senior Olympics years ago, she wished for others to experience the same delight.   Vickie laughingly says, “She basically stalked people.  If she saw a tall woman at the grocery store, she did her best to recruit”.  Slowly but surely in the early 2000s, players were added and word got out.

These efforts were recognized by all of her teammates who nominated Mary Tim to the Tennessee Senior Olympics Hall of Fame, where she was inducted in 2019.

Currently, the 30 scrappy players comprise 5 teams, based on the youngest player in each group. The Flash fill out age groups representing 50+, 55+, 60+, 65+, and 70+ teams.  Their 80 -year-olds do not have enough to fill a team so they are recruited and join other states at the national competition.  Think of it as the NCAA portal for 80+ ballers.

Speaking of Nationals, training and preparation are well underway for this summer’s challenging competition slated for Pittsburgh.  Traveling to  state and national tournaments provides incredible bonding experiences along with stories re-told for years to come.  Cherished moments accumulate as teammates cheer for each other.  Although Mary Tim does not currently play, she travels along and encourages and cheers each team from the sidelines.

“At the last Nationals, our 50+ team had tears in their eyes as our 60+ team fought to a hard-earned 5^th place finish”.
But again, winning is not the priority for these active gals.  Shared life experiences, community, and connection are key.

“Practice begins with the opportunity to share needs, concerns, and prayer”, relates Vickie.  The team celebrates the highs of weddings, retirements, and the birth of grandchildren as well as walking together through the lows of medical conditions and the loss of parents, spouses, siblings, and even children.

Community involvement such as serving meals together or putting up siding on houses for Habitat for Humanity is also important for team members.

Each practice ends with a favorite experience.  Going out to eat each week!   The camaraderie, community, and connection that each Tuesday affords team members is priceless.

Vickie sums it up well,

“This is our therapy. We do life together, whether joyful or tearful “.

What About You?

Are you a former player who misses playing?  Or someone who would love to learn and join a team?

Become the Mary Tim of your area and become an organizer!  Check with a local Parks and Recreation, YMCA, or athletic club to inquire about space and  help to spread the word.

Additionally, consider joining us at the TN Senior Olympics this summer!  For the first time, we are allowing in-state and out-of-state residents the opportunity to compete in our men’s and women’s basketball events.

Grab a few friends and enter our men’s and women’s 3×3 competition or try your hand at the free throw, 3-point, or the hot shot contests.  Click here for more information and to register. 

Would you love to play but currently do not have a team?  Click here to fill out a survey for our 3×3 Team Connect Event.  If enough interest is garnered, we will reach back out and place this on the schedule.  

Come experience the joy of sport and connecting with others as the Flash teams have so wonderfully modeled for all of us.

Win with Friends!

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