WILMINGTON, N.C. — Staying active, especially as a senior, can help you feel good.
In Wilmington, the New Hanover Senior Basketball League is having a successful second season and is ready to welcome more players who are ready to join in on the fun.
Chris Pinket has always loved basketball.
“I’ve been playing basketball like all my life,” Pinket said. “I played sports in school, I played sports in college.”
But now that he’s older, he’s found it’s harder to find a team to be a part of. That’s why he started New Hanover Senior Basketball.
“We just wanted to have a place where guys could play without no pressure,” he said. “No yelling, no screaming.”
So far, it’s been a success, with more than 70 seniors joining the league.
Some of them are dealing with cancer, PTSD, hearing loss and other ailments. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says staying active in a team-like setting helps seniors stay independent, maintain a social life and can even help keep them in good spirits.
Pinket says he sees those benefits in his teammates every time they hit the court.
“And they just can’t wait to play,” Pinket said. “It’s unbelievable, guys texting back and forth — how many guys we got today? They just want to play.”
Pinket plans on bringing that feeling to other groups in the community.
In addition to his senior basketball league, he has a senior softball league and is raising money to build a sports complex with six basketball courts that will host a wheelchair basketball league, a youth league, a league for those living with disabilities and a women’s flag football league.
Pinket says he’s planning on naming the complex after Wilmington’s basketball legend, Michael Jordan.
The New Hanover Senior Basketball League plays every Monday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon.
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