For centuries, explorers and adventurers looked for the “Fountain of Youth.”
Cal Goeders found it at a free clinic in a local park nearly eighty-five years ago…it’s tennis! Now, a young 91-year-old, he still plays three to four times a week!
On a sunny day in the 1930s, bored and with nothing better to do, Cal followed an older teen to his local park and signed up for free tennis lessons. He still calls it the best instruction he received.
Each year brought new tennis challenges and more enjoyment. He joined his high school tennis team and as a senior, won the regionals state finals before heading to Northwest Missouri State University.
After college and after serving our nation in the Navy, Cal began working at Dow Chemical and tennis once again energized his life. As luck would have it, the president of Dow also loved the sport. He and the president were doubles partners for years.
Today, Cal continues to play for the love of the game and the game loves him back.It gives him the wonderful benefits of healthy living: flexibility, endurance, balance, reactivity, and other cognitive abilities.
Tennis really is a Fountain of Youth.
Cal’s lifetime tennis career began with a free tennis clinic at a local city park. He pays it forward so that future generations can enjoy the sport as much as he does. This is why he chooses to give back to the USTA/ Midwest Tennis and Education Foundation.
If you would like to help USTA/Midwest Tennis and Education Foundation introduce more children and adults to tennis and educational programs like Cal Goeders, you can donate HERE.