Age is just a number, and one local woman is proving that point in a national basketball competition this week. Jeweline Segroves, age 72 and a great-grandmother, will compete at the Senior Olympics this week in Pittsburgh.

She and her five teammates, called The Dinos, are all over 70 and most have played basketball together since high school in Bedford County. Segroves developed a passion for “round ball” as a child.

“I started playing in sixth grade. And the day I made the team, I came home, and my dad had me a basketball goal in the backyard,” she says. “I fell in love with the sport from the day I started.”

Playing basketball tapped into her competitive nature, as she continued to play throughout high school.

“This is a sports-oriented area. Our girls’ teams in Shelbyville won the state tournament several years, and I actually won a couple of national championships at the high school level,” Segroves says. “After high school, in college, I played where there were intramurals, but there wasn’t the opportunity to continue.”

So how did she return to the basketball court in her 70s? Segroves says it started when the local recreation center director decided to start a basketball program for older adults, with the goal of participating in the Tennessee Senior Olympics. The director placed a newspaper ad and word-of-mouth recruitment of older women who had played basketball.

The Dinos basketball team, comprised of older adults ages 70 to 76.

“It’s from 50 years up, and the teams are divided into increments of five years — 50 to 55, 55 to 60, and so on. (My team) is in the 70 to 75, although you can play down,” she says. “I just love the game … and, you know, basketball improves both your physical and your mental health. It’s just fun.”

Her passion for basketball likely was a lifesaver for Segroves in late 2021. She contracted COVID and developed double pneumonia that put her in the hospital for more than a month. 

“Every doctor that came in told me that if I had not been as healthy, as strong as I was when I got there, I wouldn’t have made it,” Segroves says. “The exercise, the active life that I’ve led — they all told me that was one of the major reasons that I’m talking with you today. I shouldn’t be here.”

Segroves’ attitude about healthy aging won her an important award before the team even had their first match. She was chosen among more than 11,000 competing Senior Olympians for the Humana Game Changer Award.

“You’re going to age. I mean, hopefully. That beats the alternative. And I firmly believe you have to keep yourself active.”

The pre-game award doesn’t satisfy her competitiveness. Segroves still hopes to bring home the gold with the other Dinos. The team is no stranger to winning, having won the state tournament a few times to get to nationals in the past. 

“I feel like we’re in the best shape probably we ever have been as far as our team. We know we’re old, comparatively. But that’s not a concern. We do pretty well,” she says. “Two years ago, when we were in Albuquerque, there were 24 teams, and we came in third. The bronze was nice, but we want that gold this year!”

You can follow The Dinos at the Senior Olympics in Pittsburg here.