.Best Inspiration for Active Seniors

At 69, Jack Ball has more ass-kicking athletic energy than many people
half his age — and is inspiring other seniors to share his
enthusiasm for fitness. Ball, who has run several marathons and
completed more triathalons than he can remember, taught PE at
Berkeley’s King Middle School for 33 years before retiring in 2002. He
then got his personal-training certificate with the intention of
becoming a trainer at the downtown Berkeley YMCA, but he soon found
himself more interested in leading one of the gym’s many senior fitness
classes. “I like to say that it’s exactly what I used to do at King,
except I don’t take roll, I don’t have to grade them, and I don’t have
to care what uniform they’re wearing,” he says with a laugh. You can
find him teaching Senior Strength Training every Tuesday and Thursday
from 9:30-11 a.m. — or fifty yards ahead of you at your next
triathalon.