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A
quarterly newsletter published by New Mexico Senior Olympics, Inc.
________________________________________________
New Mexico Senior Olympics,
Inc.
__
December 2001
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Walker Inspires Senior Basketball
Women
An Interview by
Mandy Owens
In the year and a half that
Gwen Walker has been
in New Mexico, she has
made a big impact on the
lives of some of Albuquerque’s
senior women. Even
though she is from
Minnesota, this Canyon
Nets women’s team
basketball coach couldn’t
be more at home. This
is because the road from
Minnesota to the Duke
City led her back to her
passion, her love, and her joy for Basketball. Diagnosed
with Multiple Sclerosis, she was told she would
never participate in the sport again. That was thirty
one years ago.
A year and a half ago, Ms. Walker came to New Mexico
to visit a friend she had known for 20 years. She fell
in love with Albuquerque and decided to extend this "visit"
to several months when the house next to the friend
came up for rent. One evening during dinner, her friend
introduced her to Ona Porter. Ona mentioned that she
played Senior Olympic Basketball in the 50 + age group.
After learning of Gwen’s basketball background, Ms.
Porter asked if she would be interested in the assistant
coach position for the Canyon Nets Women’s Basketball
Teams. After a year, that assistant position turned
into a head coaching job when the head coach had
to resign. Ms. Walker tells us, "The Senior Olympic Basketball
teams have made the transition from Minnesota
easier for me." Ms.
Walker’s love of basketball began while playing in high
school in Beloit, Wisconsin. Her athletic talents were good enough to
permit her to play college basketball
in La Crosse, Wisconsin. However, her basketball
participation came to a sudden halt when she learned
that she had Multiple Sclerosis in 1970. Despite the
diagnosis, Ms. Walker received her Masters and Doctoral
Degree in Educational Administration at the University
of Minnesota. She became a school principal in
1977. Unfortunately, she also had many MS flare-ups. The
demands and stress of her career were substantial and
her doctor told her to retire in 1994.
Multiple Sclerosis may have ended Walker’s playing
but it did not
extinguish her passion for
the sport or her love of teaching.
"Coaching these
senior women gives me a purpose." She
told us, "Basketball becomes
greater than the
illness." She
also says that she
receives lots of
support from her
Canyon Nets.
"Without their
support, I would be
feeling sorry for
myself." She
adds, "The People
involved with the
Basketball team is very
caring toward each other.
The teams care for each
other and support each other."
However,
Walker says that she’s not the only teacher, "Everyone
on the teams is a teacher. I respect them and the
leadership they provide as senior adults. They return that
respect to me."
Ms.
Walker tells us that the challenges coaching senior women
are unique and quite different from coaching high
school basketball. "I must have a way to help every woman
so that she can perform at her maximum level - a beginner
or an advanced player. After the State Senior Olympic
Games, I may have two or more new women join
the team with different skill levels. The challenge is to
help them develop at the same time without neglecting
one over the other." Also, "When working with
senior women, you need to understand their background.
You have to understand their athletic experience
from their era." She went on to tell us that most
senior women, especially the older age groups did not
have the opportunity to learn basketball, or any other sport,
so among her coaching responsibilities is one of teaching
the game.
All
the senior women’s basketball
teams practice
faithfully every
Tuesday and Saturday
working on shooting drills,
playing drills, and
ball handling. This
practice has yielded success
for all age divisions at
the Senior Olympic Local,
State, and National levels.
These teams also
enjoy success in
other senior
basketball tournaments.
These Senior athletes
are shooting for the
Gold in the 2002
Senior Olympic New Mexico
State Games and want to qualify for Nationals in 2003.
Because
Walker is the head coach of all of the teams, it can
be a juggling act at some tournaments. At Senior Olympic
Nationals for example, she had two assistants and
when two, or more, Canyon Nets teams were playing at
the same time, she and the assistants rotated between the
teams. Team members love to share their experience with
other senior women and talk about Senior Olympics.
They also promote Senior participation by playing
during halftime at high school basketball games. Ms.
Walker tells us the teams are "like family" and sums
up her experience, "My disability is just a little piece
of who I am. The Basketball Teams help me complete
all of the pieces of my life pie."
_______________________________________________________________________________
.
• New Mexico State Agency on Aging • Corporation for National
Service •
• Americorps*VISTA •
City of Las Cruces Senior Programs • Sprint PCS •
• Best
Western Mesilla Valley Inn • Matrix Bank • Oakwood Homes •
• Dona Ana Senior Olympics,
Inc • Alpha-Omega
Printing, Inc. •
P.O. Box 2690 • Roswell, NM
88202-2690 • (505) 623-5777 • Fax: (505) 622-9244 • E-mail: nmso@qwest.net
Web page: www.nmseniorolympics.org
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