He's not an easy man to get in touch with. Try at the wrong time and he could be at the local YMCA keeping his basketball skills sharp.

Or maybe he'll be out in the sun golfing the afternoon away.

Or maybe, if you catch him in the wrong season, he'll be playing softball in Florida.

He is so active it would wear most people out in a short time. But for 71-year-old Hugh Ressler, the activities only act as a way to stay in shape.

"At my age, you can't lay off," Ressler says. "It's tough to get back into shape after taking time off."

Ressler just competed with a team from Florida in 3-on-3 basketball at the U.S. National Senior Sports Classic in Tucson, Arizona in late May. His team won a gold medal in the men's 70-and-over class. Twelve teams from across the country competed at the biennial event as well as more than 10,000 athletes in 18 sports from four countries.

Ressler was the head baseball coach at Warsaw High School in 1977 and was an assistant basketball coach '69-'77. After quitting coaching, he continued to teach at Warsaw until he retired in 1986. Since that time he has begun to spend the winter and spring seasons in Florida playing softball and the rest of the time here in Warsaw.

Ressler quit playing organized basketball at the age of 38 but began again in the fall of '92 after getting a call from an old friend to play on the five-man team that he helped to a gold medal. His team has qualified for the national tournament three consecutive times. In '93 the national finals were at Baton Rouge and in '95 they were held at San Antonio before the '97 championship.

To reach the final four, Ressler's team defeated Arizona 15-11, Michigan 15-8 and California 17-15. In the semifinals, Florida defeated Ohio to meet Arizona one final time. Ressler's team defeated Arizona again 26-20 to win the gold medal.

Ressler plans to continue to compete as long as possible.

"We have to defend our championship," Ressler said, looking ahead to the '99 championships at Disneyland.

At an age in which many people are just sitting back and watching the world around them, Ressler continues to push himself and compete at a high level. Although he struggles to find a secret as to why he is still so active, he understands that his roots help.

"I grew up on a farm," Ressler said. "I think I learned what hard work is through that. That translates into me being involved in softball and basketball in Florida."

Whatever the reasons for his great health, Ressler probably won't dwell on them long. He'll just continue to head out to the first tee to swing the golf club or practice his basketball at the YMCA to defend the championship that he, along with four others, hold at least until 1999. [[In-content Ad]]