After graduating from University of Illinois Chicago in 1971, Jim Roach worked as a management executive at companies such as IBM and Sears, putting in long hours at the office while juggling the responsibilities of being a husband and father. But those days are long behind him.
Now, he just wants to play softball.
“It’s like going back to being an 8-year-old and just running and goofing around,” the 75-year-old third baseman told the Chicago Sun-Times. “You don’t have a care in the world when you are out there.”
Roach started playing baseball when he was a little kid growing up in the northwest suburbs. But as he got older, his hectic schedule made it difficult for him to play anymore. That is, until he retired and found Northwest Suburban Chicago Senior Softball.
“I saw a bunch of old guys playing and throwing the ball back and forth,” Roach remembered. “I looked at my wife and I said, ‘I bet I could play with those guys.’ And one thing led to another, and I joined them. And the rest was history.”
For the last 15 years, Roach has been playing 12-inch softball with hundreds of guys ages 50-plus who drive out to Arlington Heights to play the game they love Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings.
You might call it a well-being double play: a perfect mix of physical and social activity for body and mind.
“Some of the things that you can do on your own are that much more impactful when you can do them with others,” said Megy Karydes, the Chicago-based author of the book “50 Ways to More Calm, Less Stress: Scientifically Proven Ways to Relieve Anxiety and Boost Your Mental Health Using Your Five Senses.”
“Community is so important because it also becomes a sort of an accountability group,” he said.
Knowing you’re expected in the dugout can be a powerful motivator for reaching exercise goals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends adults 65 and over get a mix of aerobic, muscle-building and balance-improving activity every week. The social aspect has its own powerful effects, too. Social isolation can lead to heightened blood pressure, an increased risk of heart disease, and cognitive decline in older adults. Regular clubs, games and group gatherings can reduce those risks.
The Hyde Park Art Center offers several classes designed specifically for people 65 and older.
“It’s all about trying to combat isolation and loneliness and create a sense of community, as well as teaching them an art form,” said Gregory Smith, the art center’s director of partnerships. “Our seniors tell me that these classes are a gift. … It becomes as much a social activity as it is creating art.”
Mark Beier, general manager of Midtown Athletic Club in Bannockburn, said a group of about a dozen men 65 and older come every week to the club’s Wednesday morning gentle yoga class. “And then they go and have coffee afterward in the cafe, which is nice.”
Just because a class is accessible to people at different ages and skill levels doesn’t mean it has to be easy or boring, Beier stressed.
“They are not looking for some geriatric type of workout,” he said, of the Wednesday morning crew. “I routinely see people in their 60s and 70s who can move better than people younger than them, and that’s much different than what maybe we previously thought. They want something that’s challenging. They want to feel like they still belong.”
If you’re new to something, or a bit slower than you used to be, there’s a place for you — like on the softball diamond. “I’ve got three knee replacements and two hip replacements, and I still run,” Roach laughed. “But if you can’t run, we can always just get you a pinch runner. Don’t let that stop you.”
