From retirement to Rocket League: US senior gamers head to global esports competition
Eleven Ohio seniors, ages 64 to 76, have been selected to compete in LA.
Their gamer usernames are FoxyRoxy14, GamingGrandma and Grampa2Time, and this winter they will be representing the United States in an international e-sports competition.
Eleven Ohio seniors, ages 64 to 76, have been selected to compete in December at the 2026 Global Esports Games in Los Angeles. They will make history as the first U.S. team of senior citizens to compete at the event, where they will face a senior team from Belgium in Rocket League, a video game that combines soccer with rocket-powered cars.
The team was announced on Aug. 18 in Columbus, Ohio, on a draft day organized by Senior Esports USA, an initiative of the Health-e-Gamer Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes healthy gaming and e-sports habits.
But for the players, the experience is much more than a competition.
"In the aging process, far too often, we're forgotten about, we're overlooked, we're nameless, powerless and voiceless, right? This platform gives us an opportunity to engage in all of that and be seen, be heard, be understood," says 72-year-old Ladee Pamela Shields, also known by her online username, MzDu-Wickle.
Dr. Melita Moore, a physician and the founder of the Health-e-Gamer Foundation, says she created the organization after seeing a need to connect gaming with health and wellbeing.
"I founded the Health-e-Gamer Foundation to bridge medicine, technology, and equity. We use gaming as a universal entry point to promote health, advance digital literacy as a fundamental civil right, and open doors for underrepresented groups across every stage of life," Moore said.
The announcement comes at a time when doctors are increasingly recognizing loneliness and isolation as a major challenge of aging. In fact, social isolation has become so significant that the World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledges it as a global health priority.
In the U.S., about 25% community-dwelling older adults report social isolation while another 22%-35% report feeling lonely, per the American Academy of Family Physicians.
For Shields, this is something she notes to be common among her peers. "We suffer, many of us, from depression," she said. "Many of us are widows and widowers. So when we talk about loneliness and what it does for us in this aging process... this platform through e-sports has built a brand-new community, a brand-new family."
Adults aged 50 years or older may be more vulnerable to loneliness and social isolation because of changes in health, hearing, vision, memory, disability, mobility, retirement, and the loss of family and friends.
How can we combat social isolation and loneliness?
"I encourage older adults to make social connections as part of their regular routine, having places to go, activities to look forward to and people they expect to see," says Dr. Aaron Pinkhasov, chair of psychiatry at NYU Langone Hospital--Long Island. He recommends volunteering, joining community activities, reconnecting with friends and neighbors, and, for some people, caring for a pet as a way to reduce loneliness and social isolation.
As for the community, we can all play a part by checking in regularly and making plans to spend time together, particularly with older adults who live alone.
For members of Senior Esports USA, gaming offers one way to put these strategies into practice. And while competing internationally may be the big moment, the relationships and sense of community they develop along the way may be the real prize.
Find more resources at www.nia.nih.gov/CommitToConnect, or call the Eldercare Locator at 800-677-1116 to connect with resources and services in your community.
If you are worried about anyone you know, please contact a mental health professional and call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Dr. Ayse Elif Kesaf is an internal medicine resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
Dr. Wendy Zhuo is a family medicine resident physician at Emory University and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
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