Who is Roger?

Roger has in his early sixties. Last year his accountancy firm made cutbacks and he was offered a generous long-service redundancy payment with which to take early retirement. Having paid off the mortgage on their semi-detached house he shares with his wife Joy, Roger and Joy may not have a large income, but also haven’t many financial responsibilities. If they need to they can always downsize to be nearer the grandchildren.

Roger walks the dog to the paper-shop each morning, and often plays golf. Sometimes Joy goes to over fifties aqua aerobics class at the leisure centre.

Where did he hear about Ball Again?

At the paper shop Roger always picks up his daily paper and each Thursday a copy of the local Gazette. In the Gazette one evening he read a small article about a new basketball activity entitled Ball Again, taking place at the brand new leisure centre where his wife attended her class. As a former player in the local league and an active member of the local basketball association, Roger was intrigued so dialled the number provided at the end of the piece to speak to a name he didn’t recognise but who was apparently the Ball Again PlayMaker,

Why Ball Again?

Until the pace of the local league got just that bit too much for him a few years back, Roger played every week. However, his local club no longer ran simple pay and play sessions so he had more recently volunteered as a coach. This involvement had enabled him to introduce his grandchildren to the sport. The desire to play, however, had not left him and it was his conversation with the Ball Again PlayMaker which spurred Roger on. The PlayMaker explained how the session attracted a wide variety of participants, from 16 to 66 of all abilities, male, female and mixed. He explained what a typical session looked like and his enthusiasm was infectious. Roger joined his wife at the Leisure Centre the following week and has been attending Ball Again sessions ever since.

What has he particularly enjoyed about Ball Again?

Roger has simply relished the chance to play again. Although he was worried at first that he would prove too old to take part in the sessions, the Ball Again PlayMaker structured the session and groups in such a way that he was just fine. Roger is now using his basketball contacts to raise awareness of the session. Along with a bunch of his former teammates, he has already recruited two of his golf buddies (who hadn’t even played before) as regular participants.