Seniors rally at the net: Volleyball provides fellowship and competition

Bill Burt hits the ball during a senior volleyball game at the Friendship Community Center in Oxford. Photo: Bill Wilson/The Anniston Star

“We love it,” said Steinkamp as he arrived at the air-conditioned gym where nine other players began showing up.

Several team members stood near the net and stretched before the game began.

Bill Burt of Oxford, who oversees three volleyball teams, introduced himself.

Oxford teams practice, he said, to attend competitions throughout the Southeast and to attend the Senior Olympics in Louisville, Ky., in May and June of 2007.

“Our team members come from all over Calhoun County,” said Burt, “and from Clay and St. Clair Counties.”

Burt hopes membership will grow. Some teams from other states, he said, draw from as many as 300 senior volleyball players to fashion their competitive teams. The Oxford team has had to cancel in years past for lack of players.

A relatively new member, Pat Tugo of Oxford, said she likes the “fellowship” with other team members. She hasn’t traveled with the team yet, but she hopes to. She also likes the exercise she gets from playing.

The members stop talking and gather to play. Some wear knee pads and wrist supports, and they taunt each other while playing. “I got it,” “awwww,” and “good play,” they shout.

The members are 50 years old or older and play on one of three teams: a woman’s team, age 55 and under; a men’s team, age 55 and under; and a men’s team, age 65 and under. They play co-ed on weekdays and in teams on Sundays.

Rex Brown of Golden Springs said the trouble with membership is that some people try playing; then they get sore the next day. They don’t return. The game is good exercise, though, for those willing to work out the soreness.

“We play church leagues sometimes,” said Brown. “Most of them are young, and we can sometimes wear them out.”

Members play carefully to avoid injuries. There were no high jumps or antics as they played.

Oxford members have had a few bruises and an occasional broken bone, said Brown and Burt. Members bounce back onto the teams after they heal.

“I love this,” said Jo Owen of Oxford. “It’s a lifeline for us.”

Those interested in volleyball should call Brown at 831-7723.

Contact Sherry Kughn at or 235-3555.