More Living: Long Live the Challenge
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Transcript of More Living: Long Live the Challenge
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The intense smell of sports liniment permeates the air around them, but these Boomers are champions because they always keep the real endgame in mind.
Mike Puckett had a
gold-medal attitude
when he stepped
up to home plate and slowly
scanned his field of dreams: the
National Senior Games Softball
Championship. On the diamond
that day were guys just like him,
athletic Boomers in their 50s
who were still swinging hard.
Puckett’s love for the game
has been honed by years of
responding to the call, “Play Ball!”
And these days, after countless
hits followed by quarter turns
around bases, Puckett asks,
“What’s a little arthritis in my
knees?” Simply a nuisance, not a
deterrent, it seems. And certainly
not an excuse.
“The pain reminds me of how
far I’ve come, of the many games
I’ve played, and how many more
balls I want to hit,” he says.
Puckett laughs when
confessing that the smell of
sports liniment permeates the
air of any dugout where he and
fellow players on The Power
team huddle. “Most of us wear
wraps, knee braces, and such,”
he admits.
But don’t be fooled by the
medical devices. Counting
these men out would definitely
be a bad call. They have the
hearts of champions — and the
wins to prove it.
When the pitch Puckett was
waiting for crossed the plate
Long Live the Challenge
BY IVEY HARRINGTON BECKMAN
that humid July day in 2011, he
ripped it right out of his field of
dreams for a home run. After
a quick fist pump, he ran the
bases. (OK, so it was more of a
jog, but you get the picture.)
That afternoon, gold medals
were placed around the necks
of Puckett and his teammates.
“They were gold-colored
medals,” he clarifies with a
laugh. Maybe so, but the win
was every bit a real victory, in
50 MORE LIVING JULY 2013 JULY 2013 MORE LIVING 51
© M
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THE NATIONAL SENIOR GAMES ASSOCIATION
The National Senior
Games Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to motivating
active adults to lead a healthy lifestyle
through the senior games movement.
The Games, a 19-sport, biennial competition for men and women 50 and older, is the largest multi-sport event in the world
for seniors. Visit the website nsga.com
to learn more.
with us. We build relationships
that help unbelievers become
more open to talking about
spiritual things. We have a core
group of guys who live it out.”
Webster believes The Power’s
on-the-field witness is the stuff
of 1 Corinthians 10:31: “... do
everything for God’s glory.”
“When we walk onto a ball
field, we’re walking out what’s
in our hearts,” he explains.
BETTER MENThis summer, the 2013 National
Senior Games Softball
Championship will be played
July 19 - August 1 in Cleveland,
Ohio. The Power will be there —
bats ready, liniment rubbed in.
“I think it’s funny that
the major sponsors of these
games are drug and insurance
companies,” Puckett adds with
a chuckle.
But even when knees are
aching and sweat is running faster
than some players sprint, there
are no quitters on The Power.
“No one in their 50s is going
to be out there in the hot July
sun playing ball unless he has a
passion for the game.” Puckett
explains. “And playing for The
Power gives us opportunities to
be lights for Christ. That makes
all the aches and pains totally
worth it. Win or lose the cham-
pionship, we will walk away
better men for having played
the game.”
Ivey Harrington Beckman once played on a softball team. The operative word is once, as in one game. She admires anyone who can throw a ball more than 6 feet.
more ways than one. “Long live
the challenge,” Puckett says.
“The way I see it, the best is yet
to come as long as I remember
that my strength comes from
the Lord.”
POWER TIMESeveral years ago, Scott
Webster was sitting at his
kitchen table, studying the
Bible, when God encouraged
him to start a witness-based,
slow-pitch softball team for men
in their 50s.
“The name The Power is
taken from the message of
Romans 1:16,” Webster explains.
“‘For I am not ashamed of the
gospel, because it is God’s
power for salvation to everyone
who believes... .’ This portion of
the verse is printed on our team
jerseys. We try to live it out on
and off the field,” he adds.
Prior to taking the field for
that championship game, The
Power players had huddled in
prayer, asking
God to use
them for His
glory. And
God did. The
team ended
the game with
prayer, too,
and asked the
team they had
just beaten to
join them. And
they did. A
prayer huddle
after every game is standard
practice for The Power.
“We’ve never been turned
down,” Webster says. “In fact,
guys from other teams will ask
us to pray for various things.
Praying on the field is our
platform to witness.”
HITTING WITH CHARACTERThe men who play for The Power
are, without a doubt, good
athletes and fierce competi-
tors. Just ask the many teams
they’ve beaten. Even though
they play to win, they keep the
real endgame in mind.
“It’s important to keep the
things of this world in eternal
perspective. It’s not only our
words that influence people,
but also our actions,” Webster
explains. “I’ve always been
pleased by how our players
respond to tough calls by
displaying godly character.”
Players from other teams
often say to Webster that they
can tell by the way his team
plays the game that it really
means something to them.
“Anytime you can get some-
thing out there that lifts up the
name of Jesus, that’s a good
thing,” Webster adds.
Godly character is modeled
not only to other teams but to
players on The Power.
“Not everyone on our team
is a believer because we like
to think that we can also be a
witness to someone who plays
“When we walk onto a ball field, we’re walking out
what’s in our hearts.” — Scott Webster
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52 MORE LIVING JULY 2013