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Kousha Navidar: It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Welcome back, everybody. I'm Kousha Navidar. I'm keeping the seat warm for Brian today. The Olympics are in full swing. If you're like me, you've got sports on your minds. Actually, if you are really like me, you're streaming every Olympic game over the weekend and you're watching it while you're folding laundry, but you can pretend that your socks are the shot put. Am I the only one out there? What can we say? The Olympics are in full swing, full craze.

In fact, that craze might even ignite hidden desires in us not just to watch, but to start playing a new sport. Many people, especially older folks, worry that the time for new athletic endeavors has passed but as someone who is just now figuring out how to shoot a basketball, I'm here to reassure you, it's never too late. Although kids are encouraged to experiment with different sports and incorporate sports into their lives, it's more rare for adults to participate in organized athletics.

We're joined now by Allie Volpe, a senior reporter for Vox. Her piece, Inspired by the Olympics? You can become an athlete at any age, offers a bunch of tips for adults hoping to build sports into their lives. Allie, hi. Welcome back to WNYC. It's so nice to talk to you again.

Allie Volpe: Likewise. Thanks so much for having me.

Kousha Navidar: Absolutely. Listeners, have the Olympics inspired you to start playing a sport, or have you started playing a sport later in life? What was your experience? What benefits have you experienced? It could be related to building community, improving mental or physical health. Maybe it gave you a sense of purpose. Give us a call. Send us a text. The number is 212-433-9692. That's 212-433-WNYC. We'd also love to hear your advice for adults who want to pick up a new sport.

212-433-9692, call or text that number now. Allie, even though many of us already follow professional athletics, the Olympics really exposes us to all kinds of sports. Do you think that's part of the draw of the Olympics and maybe what inspires people to experiment with new sports?

Allie Volpe: Yes. I think that seeing just how wide the field is, you've got obviously like the big ones of like gymnastics and swimming and track, but then you see rugby and fencing and all these other sports that maybe you weren't exposed to growing up. I know certainly we did not have a rugby team at my school or in my town. I think it gives people an idea or permission to follow a sport that isn't the big ones that we see in our professional sports here.

Kousha Navidar: Many people who watch sports religiously don't play a sports themselves. Organized athletics are normalized for people's childhood, but it's unusual for adults. Why do you think that is?

Allie Volpe: Right. You're encouraged to do a sport as a child, but then you get to the point where, okay, maybe I can't do this as a career. I'm not good enough. Then you are encouraged to find the thing that will eventually become your career. I think that is so short-sighted because we get so much out of sports, whether it's a team sport, an individual sport, not only the health benefits, but the social benefits, the mental health benefits that I think we shouldn't overlook the joy that these sports bring us just because we can't pursue them professionally.

Kousha Navidar: There's been a lot of discussion about the loneliness epidemic, which you are dancing right next to in your last answer. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared loneliness and isolation a national epidemic in May of 2023 and shared participation in organized sports is a great way to build community. Aside from the individual benefits, do you think adults playing sports could be good for society as a whole?

Allie Volpe: Oh, 100%. I don't know about you, but I've been hearing a lot about how popular run clubs are becoming. That is so not surprising to me because you've got this great community. You've got a routine, so you know where you're going to see these people next for how long. It's a great way to make friends when you know when you're going to see somebody next and you get the great benefit of also getting a workout in.

Kousha Navidar: Let's take some calls. We're here with Allie Volpe from Vox talking about picking up a sport later in life. If you've got experience doing that, if you have advice doing that, give us a call. We're at 212-433-9692. Let's go to Philomena in Westchester. Hi, welcome to the show.

Philomena: Hi, I'm a regular listener and I hope Brian is having a good time. I started kayaking about nine years or so ago. I'm 77 and I kayak with people who are well into their 70s and one woman is 80, another one's 84. You can do easy or tough kayaks and it's good, I think, for the mind, for the soul, and socialization. Every Tuesday, we paddle together and have a potluck dinner. Our club is the Yonkers Paddling and Rowing Club in Yonkers. It's, I think, a sport that you can take up pretty much at any time, not to say there aren't 20 and 30-something-year-olds there, but lots of older folks too.

Kousha Navidar: You started nine years ago. That means that you would have been 68 when you started. Is that right?

Philomena: Yes, that's about right.

Kousha Navidar: What drew you to kayaking?

Philomena: Well, I was on a walking tour in Yonkers and I won an hour kayaking and I didn't know what I didn't know. I had a kayak that I used to use up on a lake upstate and I didn't know that's not the kayak you use on the river. When the person who I won the tour from, the walking tour, said, "You can't use this on the river." I got to go to the kayak club and it interested me that I would see the Palisade Cliffs and I would see other parts of the world without walking along a cement road.

Kousha Navidar: Absolutely.

Philomena: It interested me to see it from another perspective. Two years ago, when I was 75, I celebrated by kayaking around Manhattan Island.

Kousha Navidar: Oh, wow. That's amazing. Philomena, thank you so much for calling in. I hope you have some safe, wonderful, hydrated travels around Manhattan or wherever you're kayaking goes. We've also got-

Philomena: Thank you.

Kousha Navidar: Thank you. We've also got Stephanie in Manhattan. You play roller derby, Stephanie, is that right?

Stephanie: Yes, that's right.

Kousha Navidar: Tell me about that experience.

Stephanie: I found myself alone in New York when I first moved here and I just Googled roller derby. I had seen it in 2011. I never thought I could do it. Here in New York, I Googled it, enrolled in the basic training program. I was 34 years old at the time. Fast forward, at age 39, I finally made the lead on my fourth tryout. I am now 41 years old and roller derby has changed my life. It's the best thing that's ever happened to me.

Kousha Navidar: Stephanie, thank you so much, and congrats. Four tryouts is real a determination. I appreciate folks talking about the dedication that it takes. We've got a nice text here that I'm going to read. "I'm a competitive fencer who started in my 20s. I'll never be an Olympian, though I fenced Olympians in competition, but I have several national medals in my age group. More importantly, fencing has taken me all over the world, helped me find amazing friends from all ages and all walks of life, and of course, keeps me active."

Allie, I want to bring you back in here. We're hearing all these folks with these different, wonderful ways of going out there, meeting people, staying healthy. What advice would you share with adults who are hoping to get into sports, but they just don't know where to start?

Allie Volpe: Yes, I know. That's a big thing. You're like, "Okay, this is cool, but I don't know what I would be good at." Something that experts told me was to take what is interesting you. If there is a sport that you are watching in the Olympics right now, and you're like, "I love this. This is so cool," use that as a guide. You could try to find classes online, look at your local parks and rec team. Coaches definitely suggest signing up for a class or getting some training so you have that guidance, especially if you're a newbie. Having the proper form, knowing safety is all really important. Again, you don't need to go out and spend a lot of money on a private coach or expensive gear.

Just find something that's very introductory, low cost but let your interests guide you. I know having seen challengers this spring, I was like, "Yes, I definitely want to learn tennis." I did not pursue that but use the motivation when you have it.

Kousha Navidar: Where you can find it, follow the motivation. I love that. Are there certain sports that you consider easier for beginner adults to get into?

Allie Volpe: Oh, that's a really great question. I think it all just comes down to, again, your interests because maybe you are an introverted person, and basketball or a team sport, maybe, wouldn't be best for you. I think you really just need to think like, what kind of person am I? How physical do I want to be? Because of course, there are some sports like gymnastics maybe that are very intense. The gymnastics coaches I spoke to were very strongly saying there is no one who can't do gymnastics. You just need to think about what your interests are, what your body can and can't do, and go from there.

Kousha Navidar: Let's go to Ed in the Bronx. Hey, Ed, what sport did you get into?

Ed: Triathlons. The short course ones, not the Ironman. We call them sprint triathlons, or as I call them, 10-man triathlons.

Kousha Navidar: I love that. What got you into triathlons?

Ed: I guess not a big fan of running, although I think it's a great sport but bad knees. Mainly the swimming and the biking, and the challenge, and knowing that it overall would be good for me. I guess to be really transparent, I lost my mother some years back, and I used it as a way to channel the grief. I had done them years earlier, went away for decades, and then came back because of that.

Kousha Navidar: I'm sorry for your loss, and thank you for sharing that. Just to share with you, I also got into triathlons not super late in life, but a little bit later in my 20s. From one triathlete to another, thanks so much for sharing some love for the sport. I think I got time for maybe just one more call. Let's go to Bri in Brooklyn. Hey, Bri, welcome to the show.

Bri: Hey, thanks so much for having me. I just wanted to say that my softball team needed girls, and often co-ed, we always do. If you're a lady out there, they have to pitch pretty five years old, I'm 48 now. I love my team so much. I don't know where I would be without them. We're friends.

We go out after the games. We are on a group chat in the off-season. It's super fun. A shout-out, go Carpe Donuts.

You guys are the best. Also, I learned to rock climb when I was 39, and it's taken me all around the world. I've gone to Greece, Spain, Thailand. That's another place to meet other women as well.

Kousha Navidar: Wow. Bri, thank you so much. I'm going to have to pause you there. I really appreciate your call. Thank you so much. Rock climbing, softball, so great. Shout out to the Donuts, as she said. Allie got about 30 seconds left. Some practical advice here. How can listeners learn or find out about opportunities to participate in organized sports near them? You got about 30 seconds. Go ahead.

Allie Volpe: Do not overlook local Facebook groups. Get on Facebook, or if you don't have Facebook, Google, or Reddit. Social media is really, really good for just asking people what groups get together, what gyms, what clubs, and people are more than happy to share the wisdom.

Kousha Navidar: Some text here that I want to read. "Just went rock climbing for the first time. It was great. I started sports after becoming a mother. I've improved my physical and mental health and I've made a lot of friends."

Then one text here that just says, "Competitive napping." Love that. We have to leave it there for today. Allie Volpe, senior reporter for Vox. You can read her piece at Vox. It's called Inspired by the Olympics. You can become an athlete at any age. Allie, thank you so much for coming on. I really appreciate it.

Allie Volpe: Thanks so much for having me.

Kousha Navidar: All right. That's our show today. Thanks to the team at The Brian Lehrer Show. It's Lisa Allison, Mary Croke, Amina Srna, Carl Boisrond, and Esperanza Rosenbaum. Zach Gottehrer-Cohen handles our Daily Politics podcast. Our interns are Sasha Linden Cohen and Lucinda Empson-Speiden, sorry about that, and Juliana Fonda, and Milton Ruiz are at the audio controls. I'm Kousha Navidar. This is The Brian Lehrer Show.

I'll be in the host chair for All Of It tomorrow. For now, stay tuned for Alison. Thanks so much again for all of your calls today, all of your thoughts. Really appreciate it having you here. Stick around for All Of It, and we'll talk to you tomorrow. Have a great day.

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