Donna Gillen
Nonagenarian: A person between the ages of 90-99.
It was with awe to discover that here in PebbleCreek there are 90+-year-olds still actively playing tennis. Upon interviewing each of these amazing men, it was deemed important to recognize their astounding achievements.
Our youngest is George Bohl, a mere 91 years young. He started playing casually at age 15. With 15 as his start, we can deduce that he has been playing on and off for more than 76 years. However, tennis is not his only sport. He alluded that he aged gracefully by keeping very active. During the off-season in Wyoming, he skied to keep his legs nice and strong for tennis. His favorite memory was playing with his daughter in a tournament. They won second place in the Wyoming Tennis Open for ages 35 and over. As a side note, his daughter was ranked No. 1 in the state at age 18. His love for tennis was so evident in our conversation. He continues to play because of the camaraderie, and he loves the tennis club tournaments. May your legs, George, stay strong and your passionate spirit for the game continue for many more years!
It was thrilling to learn of a 93-year-old still actively playing; Mr. William “Bill” Schroeder. Bill started playing tennis when he was 45 while living in Los Angeles. He wanted to get some good exercise in before going to work in the morning. As with many players, they start out with one goal and then find out how much fun it is to play tennis, which led to Bill playing singles three times a week until the age of 80. He did not play competitively during those years. Then he moved to PebbleCreek. When he first started to play tennis here, he played competitively with the 3.0 team for several years. Currently, Bill plays doubles with the drop-in group. He indicates that his stamina is not what it used to be, but he still enjoys playing. What keeps him going: the camaraderie with the other players. He enjoys playing with those he first met and is quite welcoming to all the new players here in PC. During the summers, he escapes the heat of this valley and plays tennis up in Prescott. He still plays twice a week at the community college there.
All in all, these two shining stars in the PC Tennis Club set a bar that is very difficult to obtain. They are so inspirational to all court players as to what can be accomplished at any age, as long as there is a will to keep moving and growing in athletic skillfulness.