By Sierra
Crawford 16
Camp REACH Coaches Gary Cogar and Ricky Dyer, played basketball in the Tennessee Senior Olympics this summer and won the gold medal in their age division.
The two were among five players from the Chattanooga and Nashville areas who played on the Scenic Senior Sixty basketball team in Brentwood (near Nashville) in June and took first place in the sport.
“It was a wonderful experience,” said Dylar, who said the team has been playing together for more than a decade.
This is the first year they’ve won a gold medal in state competition together, said Cogar.
Winning the state championship qualifies them to compete in the national olympics this fall.
Both players say they won’t compete this year, but they will compete nationally in Iowa in 2025 if they win the state again.
Both played in the 60 to 64 age bracket. Dyer, who was a four-year starter at Columbia College in Columbia, Mo., turns 64 in July and Cogar, a retired firefighter who also teaches commercial painting at the camp, is 65. Cogar played in the division to accommodate his younger teammates.
Both coaches assist 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist Venus Lacy in providing athletic training for Camp REACH students.
Cogar says he is encouraging Lacy to compete with the team in national competition in 2025.
Other players include Tyler Overley, Ricardo Jones, and P.J. Heimermann.