Local tennis players Gary Greenberg and Jim Mead are proof that you’re never too old to go for the Gold. The partners competed in the regional Senior Games qualifiers in October and placed first, then went on to compete in the Florida State Senior Games in December, where they won Gold in the 7074 age division.
“I think we played very well, especially in the finals,” said Greenberg, 73, of St. Cloud. “It was nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time. We played against two very competitive and tough players.”
Greenberg first took up tennis when he was 47, which, as he says, is rather late to pick up a game that requires a lot of skill and practice. He participated in United States Tennis Association leagues for several years and improved his game over time. “I think I’m playing better now than I ever have in the past,” he said.
Mead, 70, of Harmony, played tennis casually when he was in his teens, but never played in an organized league until he retired and moved to Florida.
“We had moved to Clermont, and they had a league in my community. That was in 2013, so I’ve been playing for about 10 years as a retiree,” he said.
When Mead moved to Harmony a couple of years ago, he started playing with a group of players at Twin Lakes in St. Cloud, where he met Greenberg.
“We decided to team up and play doubles and compete in the Florida Senior Games,” Mead said.
The Senior Games are an Olympic-style competition for athletes ages 50 and over. The duo has already qualified for this year’s State Games, which will be held in December. If they place in the top four, they qualify for the 2025 National Senior Games in Des Moines, Iowa.
“That’s a stretch, but It would be wonderful to qualify for the National Senior Games,” Mead said.
The men have developed a friendship in the two years they have been tennis partners. In true tennis fashion, they lobbed compliments back and forth during their interview: “Jim came through big time in the finals. He’s very dependable in many phases of the game. His serve is very, very good. In fact, I always let him serve first because he is so dependable,” Greenberg said.
“I’ll just brag on [Gary] a little bit. Have you ever heard the term ‘speed kills’? Speed kills in tennis, too, and Gary’s a killer. He’s so fast. His speed is really an asset to the team,” Mead returned.
“Jim is just very, very dependable. Very steady, very confident,” Greenberg added.
“It was Gary’s skill and unwillingness to lose that helped us win. But more, as a team, I think we both have a lot of trust in each other, so when things get tight, we both kind of bear down and we’re able to lean on each other for support and just will ourselves to win,” Mead said.
That camaraderie is shared within the Twin Lakes tennis group, Greenberg said.
“It’s been a great relationship and a great opportunity, and I’ve really enjoyed playing with this Twin Lakes crew in St. Cloud. There are times when maybe in our tennis group, one of us doesn’t show up, and we’ll ask, ‘Are you OK?’ It’s almost as if you didn’t show up for work that day. Within our tennis group, there’s not only the social aspect, but support. We support each other,” he said.
“We play with a really good group of people, and we play very competitive tennis. There aren’t too many other sports where you can go out, run for two and a half hours, at the age of 70, 73, and enjoy it,” Greenberg said.
“Well, I also enjoy the nap that takes place later in the day,” Mead quipped.
